


Take Us Back

by Rockingham, rulesofthebeneath (radishphilosophy)



Category: Choices: High School Story: Class Act (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Suicide, Survival, Zombie Apocalypse, two MCs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2020-06-24 23:42:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 78,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19734040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rockingham/pseuds/Rockingham, https://archiveofourown.org/users/radishphilosophy/pseuds/rulesofthebeneath
Summary: Three years ago, the world changed forever. After journeying back to their hometown of Cedar Cove, Bailey and Casey need to learn how to survive in this new world where monsters are an everyday occurrence...





	1. Prologue

_ People within a forty mile radius of Portland have been asked to evacuate due to the outbreak of a mysterious neurological virus that appears to allow the recently deceased to rise from the dead. The authorities have made no comment on the recent outbreak. Officials say that this is an isolated incident and that the outbreak is under control. Anyone who has visited the Portland area in the last ninety days is being asked to return report immediately to the St. Vincent hospital to be tested. _

“I’m glad Portland wasn’t on our list,” Greg comments as his wife leans over to change the radio station. 

“I called Brenda the other day. She says they transferred her to the cancer hospital just outside of Cedar Cove before the outbreak. I’m glad her and Rory weren’t infected, it sounds like a horrible disease.”

“Had to have scared doctors real bad. Can you imagine someone coming back to life like that?” Greg frowned. “What a world to live in.”

“I just hope everything is cleared up before school starts up,” Rita offered with a shake of her head. Greg turned to her slightly from his spot in the driver’s side, offering a reassuring smile.

“I’m sure this is a freak thing, things like this only happen in Casey’s science fiction comics.” Greg chuckled as Casey perked up from the back seat.

“As long as I’m the hero of the comic, I’m cool with that.” Casey grinned as Rita let out a little chuckle.

“Alright, enough talking about all that, let’s focus on our vacation before my babies go off to high school.”

Casey and Bailey couldn’t contain their excitement when their parents decided to take them on a vacation before school started. It was rare that they got to take long breaks from work since the family owned their own dinner; usually they couldn’t close for more than a day or two. Greg and Rita had been setting money aside so that they could take a real family vacation and were finally set to close the dinner for a full week. They surprised the twins with the vacation right after school had let out and scheduled to take the trip at the end of the summer as a final adventure before the twins started high school.

“Hey kiddos, you can see the hotel from here.” Greg announced as they drew closer to a beautiful looking hotel with “HOTEL KARLAN” written on the sign. Greg turned towards the valet stand, several other cars waiting in front of them as Casey and Bailey took in the sights of the hotel out of the car windows.

“Oh, dear look!” Rita suddenly gushed as she gestured to the car that had just pulled up to the valet. “A wedding party, do you remember when we got married here?”

Greg laughed. “I couldn’t forget that! That’s why I wanted to bring the kids here.”

“You got married here?!” Bailey squealed as Rita turned in her seat to smile at her children.

“We did, almost eighteen years ago now.” Rita smiled.

“We’re using this vacation as an excuse to scope out the old venue, maybe see if it’s good enough to renew our vows…” Greg offered with a slightly teasing voice. “Did you think we came on this vacation without a motive?”

Casey chuckled and shook his head. “I knew the vacation was suspicious. Bailey, you didn’t believe me!”

“Tricked again by the ‘rents,” Bailey joked as she snapped her fingers,. “Oh well, we’ll have to enjoy the vacation anyway.” 

The four pull up to the front of the valet, getting out of the car and unloading the luggage as the bridesmaids laugh and take photos of each other and the venue. Bailey pulls her backpack over her shoulder as her father walks around the car to the college-aged kid standing at the pedistol. He looks rather bored and doesn’t say much as he takes Greg’s keys. Bright white marble floors and light colored walls greet them as they enter the lobby. The wedding party is spread across the open area, taking photos and talking with cheerful faces.

Bailey notices a man who looks like the groom talking to an elderly man who looks to have fallen ill. He sits on one of the couches and seems to be having trouble breathing.

“Poor man. I do hope he feels better before the wedding,” Rita said when she noticed what her daughter was looking at. “I can imagine it doesn’t feel good to be sick on such a big day.”

“ _ A video goes viral today regarding the ZB1 virus that had spread through Portland, Oregon.” _ A small group of people waiting in line turned to one of the TVs in the lobby as the news story played. “ _ The video shows a man as he reanimates from death. The video was allegedly taken from William Bee Ririe Hospital in Ely, Nevada. Authorities are stating that the video may have been staged, however, the disturbing nature of the video has people asking if the ZB1 virus is as contained as we’re lead to believe.” _

“Can we turn that off?” A young man from the bridal party calls over to the desk clerk with an annoyed look. “We’re trying to celebrate here, we don’t wanna hear about this fake zombie shit.”

The young woman at the front desk only hesitates a moment before fumbling under the desk for the remote before changing the channel. A few of the people in line take out their phones as they wait.

“ZB1 virus my ass, that shit sounds fake,” the man states loudly as he turns back to the groomsmen. 

Bailey turns back to her brother, who has his phone out. He has a frown on his face and his eyebrows are knitted together. 

“What’s up?” Bailey asked as Casey turned to her.

“Lorenzo sent me a link to the video,” Casey commented. “I can’t tell if I want to watch it.”

Greg walks up to check the family in and Rita turns to the two.

“Why don’t we try to focus on our vacation for now,” Rita suggested. Casey nodded and put his phone in his pocket as Greg walked back with several key cards. The family takes their bags to the elevator as Greg hits the button to their floor, humming a familiar tune as they rode up to the third floor. They start heading down the hall to their room when Bailey feels Casey nudge her.

“Wanna go check out the pool?” Casey asks with a grin. Bailey hears Greg chuckle a bit as he turned to the room and unlocked it with the card yet.

“Go ahead you two, just don’t lose your keys.” 

Bailey and Casey grinned as they hurried into the room to change with their parents laughing as they watched their kids. Casey had thrown his bags onto the pull out couch in the corner as Bailey threw hers on the single bed before the two split up to change and head down to the pool.

“We’re going to get dinner at around six, so make sure to come back and change before that!” Rita calls as the twins race out of the room.

Bailey hurries to keep up with her brother as they race down to the pool. She sees Casey jump up excitedly when they see the pool is mostly empty, save for a family that looked like they were getting ready to leave. Casey is quick to run over and cannon ball into the deep end of the pool. Bailey laughs as the two kids with the family clap at the large splash Casey made. The mother sees Bailey coming over after her brother and gives a wave as she collects her kids to go back to their room.

Bailey smiled as she slipped off her shoes and shoved her key card in one of her sneakers. Casey is already swimming laps around the large pool. He stops at the shallow end and stands up waving his arms.

“Bailey! Bailey! It’s  _ heated _ !” Casey yells excitedly as he jumps around the pool. Bailey shakes her head before jumping in. The water was a perfect temperature for the late summer weather, not shockingly cold but not so warm it was uncomfortable. Bailey shakes her blonde hair out as she resurfaces, quickly getting splashed by her brother before he tries to swim away. The two chase each other around the pool splashing each other and swimming laps around the large pool. 

Bailey starts to slow down after about thirty minutes of trying to keep up with her brother, who had more energy than a five year old on red bull. He’s gone back to mostly swimming laps while Bailey hangs out in the shallower end of the pool, hanging out and listening as the music from the wedding ceremony travels through the open air. 

It’s almost another half hour before Casey’s phone alarm goes off, warning them that they would have to start getting dried off and heading back to the room to change so they could go to dinner. The two grab towels from the hotel’s racks and head back towards the lobby. 

“I’m starving,” Casey comments as they start towards the elevator, getting a few looks from members of the wedding party as it seemed to have moved to one of the banquet halls inside the hotel. 

“Me too.” Bailey nodded as they got on the elevator and headed back up to their floor. They pass a few people as they get off the elevator, several families heading down to the restaurants on the bottom floor of the hotel. Casey speeds up a little as they pass.

“We should hurry or we’ll have to wait!” 

Bailey walks faster to keep up with her brother as they re-enter their room. Greg greets them with a smile.

“How was the pool, you two?” Rita asks as Casey finishes drying his blonde hair. 

“It was nice, there was no one else down there,” Bailey answered as her brother grabbed clothes and headed to the bathroom to change. “That’s a big wedding party, we could hear the music from the pool. The lobby was really crowded too when we went by.”

“Your father and I saw some of them earlier when we were walking around. It’s such a lovely reception.”

“Not as lovely as ours was,” Greg quickly added as Casey got out of the bathroom. Bailey grabs her change of clothes and goes to change while Casey plays on his phone for a few minutes, waiting for her.

“Augh, Lorenzo keeps sending me stuff on this virus up in Portland.” Bailey hears Casey say as she changes and runs a brush through her long blonde hair. 

“I understand why he would be worried about it,” Rita offers as Bailey comes out of the bathroom, the smell of chlorine still clinging to her skin. “It’s been all over the news lately.”

“Lorenzo thinks it’s cool. Like a video game.”

“Make sure he knows he can’t respawn in real life.” Greg offered as they turned to leave their room and get dinner. “I hear the restaurant downstairs is amazing. Not as amazing as ours, but I guess they try.”

The family walks down to the casual pub style restaurant in the hotel. There were several other families sitting at the tables but the restaurant was quiet overall, most likely due to the wedding party in the banquet hall. The hostess seats them immediately and takes their drink order before walking away to get their drinks.

“I can’t wait to show you kids where your mother and I went on our first date,” Greg chuckled as the waiter brought over his beer and Rita’s wine. He places glasses of soda in front of the twins as Greg continues. “We spent an entire day lost at the San Diego Zoo.”

“We kept walking in circles, your father was terrible at reading maps.”

“Dad’s still bad at reading maps,” Bailey teases as Casey chuckles his agreement.

“Some things don’t change.” Rita shook her head with a laugh. 

They order their food and continue to talk about all the sights they plan to see during the week.

“Will we have time to visit Balboa Park?” Casey asks as the waiter passes out their food. 

“Of course! We’re going to plan at least one full day there,” Greg nodded. “There are some theatre groups performing there this week. Plus lots of historic sights that your mother has been dying to see.”

There is a moment of silence while everyone digs in to their plates, hungry from the long car ride and from swimming in Casey and Bailey’s case. There’s a lull in conversation when a loud scream echoes through the room. 

Everyone in the room is silent as several employees run down the hallway. A manager rushes over and whispers something to the hostess before directing his attention to the patrons of the restaurant.

“Excuse me folks! I apologize, but we have to close up early tonight. We’re asking everyone to please pack up their meals and take them back to their rooms. We’ll have waiters bring around containers for you all,” the manager yells as the few families start to mutter to each other.

“What’s all this about?” Casey asks from Bailey’s left as a waiter frantically leaves several containers on their table. 

“We apologize for this inconvenience! Your meals today have been comped.”

“How strange,” Rita started uneasily as yelling came from down the hall.

“I wonder if something happened,” Greg murmured as he started loading the food in the containers with Casey and Bailey’s help. The waiters ran around the serving area, rushing people to leave as quickly as possible.

“Maybe something happened with that wedding party,” Bailey guessed, snapping her container shut.

“That older man didn’t look well,” Rita pointed out as everyone grabbed their containers and headed for the exit. A few other families close by were mumbling about the inconvenience, and some were worried about what might be happening. 

As soon as they reached the lobby, the screaming got louder. There was yelling as people ran from one place towards the second hall where the wedding party was celebrating. As the family walks toward the elevator, a waiter for the wedding party rushes out of the room, the front of his uniform soaked in blood with his hand over his neck screaming.

“CALL 9-1-1!” The waiter screams as several waiters stop him from running through the lobby. Bailey feels her father’s hand on her shoulder as he rushes them to the elevator at the sight of the injured man. By the time they get to the elevator it’s already full with the first batch of people while others struggle to get in.

“Calm down!” Greg shouts over the madness. “There are two other elevators!”

Greg turns toward the lobby where wedding guest are starting to appear, covered in blood and screaming. The elevator past the lobby wasn’t an option. Everyone would have to get through the two available on this side.

“Dad, the stairs!” Casey called as he opened the stairwell. Bailey and their parents as well as a few other bystanders rushed into the stairwell. Several people rushed past Bailey and her father, knocking them out of the way on their way up. Casey slams the door once everyone’s through. 

“Come on.” Rita urged as they race up the stairs with the other guests. They hurry up the stairs as the sounds of sirens echo through the walls.

They get to the fourth floor in record time as Casey throws the door open and they all run through and towards their room. They stop as they turn the corner, seeing a group of people keeping their distance from a couple on the floor. A young woman in a purple bridesmaid’s dress splattered with blood and the young man Bailey recognized as the one who yelled in the lobby when the news story about the virus came on. He was currently on the ground, a large gaping wound on his throat and blood soaking through his white shirt and dark blue jacket.

“How the hell did you get up here?” one of the older guests asked.

“Please wait! We came up through the service elevator,” the bridesmaid cried as people backed away. 

“You stupid bitch! He’s infected!” Another man yelled, “Look! He’s got a bite on his neck!”

“Why would you bring him up here?!” A woman yelled as she pushes her child behind her. 

The bridesmaid stood up slowly, the front of her dress more soaked in blood then the rest of her. “Please help us.” She begged, “He’s not dead, please, if we stayed down there we’d be killed.”

“If you’re infected you deserve to be!” the older man yelled as he pointed a finger at her. The yelling continued; the bridesmaid begging for help while the irate guests continued to scream at her. Bailey looked around trying to figure an easier way to get to their room before locking eyes with Casey who gave her a helpless shrug. It looked like the only hallway to their room was the one that was blocked.

“Come on! Just get back to your rooms!” Greg tries to yell as he draws the same conclusion as the twins do. His yell goes unanswered as parents start sharing looks as they hold their children trying to find a way to break through the clog in the hallway. 

“Dad, come on,” One of the women with a toddler in her arms said as she tugged on one of the loud elderly men screaming at the bridesmaid. A few of the parents turn to look at each other with worried looks. No one seems to notice when the groomsman’s foot twitches. 

Everything goes silent at the sound of gunshots from a few stories below. A few mothers had enough of the arguing and have pushed through the crowd heading down the hallway to their rooms with their children. Rita and Greg decide that it’s their best bet to get everyone back to the room as Bailey feels her mother’s hands on her shoulders as they push through the crowd. They’re almost around the corner when the bridesmaid screams.

The young man starts clambering to a standing position and lets out the most horrific groaning noise Bailey had ever heard. Panic breaks out as people start shoving others and running to their rooms. Someone crashes into Greg and Casey sending them into the wall as someone else hits Rita from behind, causing her and Bailey to hit the floor.

Bailey tries to get back to her feet only to look up and see the deformed face of the groomsman standing by her. He lets out another inhuman noise as Bailey sits there completely frozen before she feels someone grab her arms and pulled her away from the beast as her mother rushes to her feet after her. 

“Bailey! Are you alright?” Rita asks as she helps Casey pull her to her feet. Bailey hardly gets to answer when the corpse comes up on them again.

“Mom!” Casey yells. Rita turns quickly as the corpse grabs her. Suddenly, the corpse becomes dead weight on her and she falls backwards onto the floor again, raising her arms to protect her face from snapping teeth and clawing fingers.

“RUN!” Greg yells as he throws his elbow through the glass “in case of fire” case and pulls out the fire extinguisher. He runs over and slams the barrel of the container against the corpse’s skull knocking it away from his wife. He helps Rita up and the four run down the hall towards their room. Casey pulls out his card and unlocks the door quickly as they all rush in, the corpse twitching in their wake.

As soon as the door is slammed shut everyone takes a minute to catch their breath, the sounds of their hard breathing and gunshots from downstairs echoes through the room. 

“Mom?” Bailey looks over as her mother holds her forearm. Rita pulls her arm away to shows the swatch of blood quickly forming on the sleeve of her shirt. When she pulls her sleeve up there are noticeable teeth marks marred into her flesh. 

Everyone in the room is silent for a few seconds. Bailey feels a new wave of fear creep up the back of her neck as the information processes through her head. 

“What do we do?” Casey asked, his voice shaky.

“Everyone calm down, the authorities are here, I’m sure we’ll be rushed to a hospital,” Greg reasoned as he turned to his wife. Casey and Bailey share a look as the room falls quiet, the boom of gunfire hesitating for a few moments before it picks back up, a little louder than before. 

Bailey feels her heartbeat pick up as the gunfire restarts a third time.

“Why is it getting louder?” Casey asks in a whisper as Rita goes to lay on the bed, the color had quickly drained from her face and she looked flushed as if fighting a high fever. Bailey took a few steps closer.

“Mom, are you feeling okay?” Bailey asked as Rita looked up at her.

“I’m okay, dear, just feeling a little lightheaded.” Rita assured as Bailey nodded, taking a seat on the single bed next to the queen her parents were going to sleep in. 

Suddenly they can hear boots marching through the hallways before banging on doors.

A few seconds later, more gunshots.

Greg’s eyes go wide.

Bailey’s blood suddenly runs cold as she looks over to Casey who comes to a very similar conclusion.

_ They’re executing everyone. _

The cries of confused families start to grow louder before gunshots silence them. Greg suddenly bolts to the window, swinging it open and looking at the scene below before poking his head back in.

“You two need to leave.” Greg grabs Casey and Bailey’s bags that they dropped earlier and thrusts them at them. “You can climb down through the window, there’s a balcony beneath us that you can climb to.”

“But dad!” Casey protests as Greg pushes them towards the window.

“Go back to Cedar Cove where it’s safe,” Greg tells them as he reaches over, placing a hand on each of their shoulders, “Go down to that balcony and then hide until the police leave, then go get the car from the valet and go back to Cedar Cove where it’s safe.”

“What about you?” Bailey asks as Greg gives his children a small smile and looks back over at Rita on the bed. She had moved to a sitting position.

“Your mother and I will figure things out here,” Greg said. “Take care of each other.”

He pulls them both into a hug as the footsteps draw closer. He releases them and pushes them towards the window.

“There’s no more time, you both need to go.”

Reluctantly, Casey turns and climbs out the window first. He lowers himself to the frame of the window below him and scales down to the balcony below before looking up and motioning for Bailey to come down. Bailey glances at her parents one last time, both of them flashing her sad smiles and nodding at her to leave. She takes and breath and turns to scale down the wall like her brother does. As soon as she’s cleared the first window her father closes the window.

Her feet hit the balcony a second before a flash of light followed by gunshots can be seen from the window. Bailey stands paralyzed before Casey pulls her through the room attached to the balcony. 

The room itself is the scene of a horror movie. The previous occupants of the room lay sprawled across the carpet in puddles of their own blood. Bailey doesn’t have time to process the scene in front of her before Casey tugs her into the bathroom to hide. He closes the door and runs a hand through his hair, quickly pacing back and forth across the tile muttering panicked curse words under his breath.

Bailey took a look at herself in the mirror and could only see her own scared green eyes looking back at her. She couldn’t quite process her reflection. It felt so unreal. The entire situation felt like a dream, but the aches in her arms from climbing down the balcony and the feeling of her heart pumping in her chest reminded her that it was all too real. 

Casey sank down onto the ledge of the bathtub, head in his hands. Bailey tore herself away from her reflection and sat beside him, not sure what to say. The twins sat in silence for a long time, startling whenever the gunfire started back up.

“We have to go down two more floors,” Casey said. “But I think we should hide in here until the police go up another floor, just to be cautious”

Bailey nodded. “How long do you think it will be? Before it’s safe, I mean.”

Casey choked out a bitter laugh. “I don’t know. I don’t think it’ll ever be safe again.”

Spurred on by Casey’s haunted words, the two gathered their things and crept out of the bathroom, determinedly not looking at the corpses and blood on the floor of the room. They climbed down the remaining two balconies, their unease increasing as the gunfire sounds become more and more frequent. They bolted across the lawn behind the hotel to the parking lot, frantically looking around for the valet parking sign. They were able to find the valet stand with the keys easily enough, their keys in a drawer with all the other hotel’s patrons’ keys. Their father’s keychain was decorated with a representation of his alma mater’s mascot, so Bailey found it easily. Bailey ran her thumb over the enamel lion as tears ran down her face. She stood still for a minute while Casey continued to search for the car, neither of them wanting to draw attention to the police by sounding the car’s alarm.

Bailey hoped that this wouldn’t be the last time she saw her parents. But she knew that her mother had been bitten, and the man on their floor who had been bitten had also turned into… something. Something that shouldn’t exist. She prayed that the same thing wouldn’t happen to her mother, even though her nagging logic told her that it probably would.

“Bailey!” Casey yelled, and Bailey startled. She whipped around to where Casey was pointing, and saw police car lights flashing. She closed the drawer of the valet stand as quietly as she could and ran towards Casey, shoving the keys at him. In their parents’ brief driving lessons, Casey had been the quicker learner, and anyways Bailey didn’t trust herself to drive with her shaking hands. 

The twins finally found the car and quickly got in, taking care not to slam the doors. In the brief seconds that Casey took fumbling the keys into the ignition, Bailey sent one last thought up to their parents. As gunfire echoed around them, Casey started the car and gingerly maneuvered it out of the parking lot at a turtle’s pace. As much as Bailey wanted to get away from the hotel as soon as possible, she knew it was best that Casey didn’t go too fast and hit another car, or accidentally run off the road. At the age of 14, neither of them were able to legally drive, but Casey had been very eager to learn and had been studying and begging their dad to teach him to drive constantly over the summer. He was their best bet, and both of them knew it as he carefully pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road. Bailey dug through the glove box to look for the car charger for her phone, then set up the GPS app to take them back to Cedar Cove. Casey quickly reached over to check the box that said “avoid highways”. Bailey looked at him strangely.

“Police are more likely to be on highways,” he said, “And I’m… not confident enough to drive that fast.”

Bailey understood. “Okay. Then let’s see how far we can get on the gas that’s left, then we can try and walk the rest of the way?” She pulled her father’s hunting knife out of the center console, remembering that he always kept it there in case they broke down in the wilderness. 

“Maybe some gas stations will still be open?” Casey wondered aloud, cruising down the road at 10 mph under the speed limit.

Bailey nodded absently, her mind drifting back to her parents at the hotel. Anxiety started to fill her chest as she thought about her parents. She didn’t know if they were dead or alive, and she hoped her father would call them or send a message when they were safe. She looked forward out of the windshield, and watched the sun set over the two-lane road. This world was one that was unlike anything she’d known before, unlike anything she had ever prepared for. But it was reality, and a determination to survive set in for both her and Casey as they drove down the road, and into a new world.

***

Back in Cedar Cove, a teenager hid under their mother’s hospital bed as police ran down the hospital’s hallways, shooting rapidly at a monstrous figure that stumbled past. They couldn’t see a lot out of the small window in the door, but they saw enough to know what was going on. They switched the TV on, and every channel was broadcasting the same story. On the local channel, the broadcasters called the things  _ zombies _ , an uncontrollable symptom of the ZB1 virus that had been the reason their family had been transferred to the smaller hospital. On the next channel, government officials told the public to remain calm. On the next, a group of conspiracy theorists denied the whole thing, saying the videos and reports were fake. The teenager didn’t know what to think, so once the gunfire had faded off into a distant section of the hospital, they climbed back up into the chair by their mother’s bed and took her hand, squeezing it and hoping that this would all blow over soon.

***

In the Cedar Cove library, chaos reigned. A librarian had switched the radio on and plugged it into the loudspeaker, and now all anyone could hear besides each other’s terrified groans were the words nobody wanted to hear coming from the radio.

_ Evacuate… protect yourself… we’re not sure… Don’t panic... _

A young boy ran through the panicked crowd by the front door over to where his older brother had been tutoring some summer school students, and tugged on his shirt for comfort. His brother put a hand on the boy’s shoulder to keep him close, but stared transfixed at his computer screen, where he was watching a livestream of the local news. Suddenly he stood, startling the younger boy, and took him by the hand.

“We have to go home.”

***

In a mansion on the east side of town, a fiery-haired girl watched helplessly as her parents ran around the house, loading things into suitcases.

“Why can’t we come with you?” her older brother asked, his temper flaring.

“There’s not enough room in the car,” her mother said, not even making eye contact with her eldest child. He had always been their parents’ favorite, the girl recalled bitterly. She guessed it didn’t matter anymore.

“You’re safer here,” their father said, his voice cold and his eyes devoid of any emotion. The girl wasn’t surprised in the slightest that their parents were leaving them. She looked across the room at her brother, who was pulling on his mother’s shoulder desperately.

“Please, Mom…”

The girl thought she saw her mom’s eyes soften for a moment, before she turned away.

“We’ll come back for you,” she said in a flat voice. “You’re safer here.”

The girl knew they were lying.

***

In Portland, a girl sprinted down the city streets, brown and pink hair flying behind her. A backpack full of books, fresh from EMT training, jostled behind her, making her back hurt. She finally reached a nondescript apartment building and ran inside. She made the mistake of looking behind her and saw the monster, deformed, rotting and ghostly pale, shuffling around the corner behind her. She slammed the front door of the building shut and took the stairs two at a time all the way up to the sixth floor.

When she entered the small apartment she shared with her parents, she only found it empty. And later, long after her parents should’ve been home, it was still empty. She sat on the couch, feeling nothing and everything at the same time, and stayed like that for hours, ignoring the screams and gunfire taking place in the city around her. She’d barely escaped, and had the sinking feeling her parents hadn’t been so lucky.

***


	2. Around Every Corner

**_August 3rd, 2021_ **

_ Today was another day of just sitting around the house, waiting for Dad to come home. Mom hasn’t stopped pacing in the living room since noon, and it’s nearly five pm. I think she feels the emptiness here in the house without Dad, same as I do. It’s really all we can do to hold ourselves together, not knowing what happened to him.  _

_ At least the neighbors are nice. They’re holed up here too, one of the few parts of town not covered in walkers. We’re just five minutes away from the school… it’s crazy to think that I’d be starting my senior year there now, if it weren’t for all this. The neighbors have a son as well, and sometimes I’ve been catching his eye through the window.  _

_ I don’t know why that’s notable. This is the apocalypse, little things like crushes shouldn’t matter. But they do, or at least they do to me. And if I’m not wrong, it matters for him too. We’ll see.  _

_ *** _

Not far away in Cedar Cove, three people had set up camp in the old high school. One was a young man whose tortoiseshell glasses were badly in need of a new prescription. He ran through the halls playfully chasing the second person, his younger brother, an energetic eleven-year-old who desperately wanted to go outside, but fully understood why he couldn’t. They’d both been through hell and back in the three years since the outbreak, but the one thing that stayed the same through all that time was that they always had each other.

A young woman, whose youthful pink streaks of hair dye had faded back into her natural dark brown over the years, rummaged through the shelves in a classroom off the hallway the other two ran through. Upon opening a random box on the shelf, she smiled broadly and walked out into the hallway, calling out to the other two.

“I found attendance forms,” she said triumphantly, “and lesson plans. Useless.”

“So, perfect for kindling,” the young man replied with a crooked grin, walking over to take a look in the box. “Nice find.”

The boy ran up to them, having noticed his brother wasn’t chasing him anymore.

“It’s summer,” he pointed out. “We don’t need a fire.”

“We do if we run out of cans,” his brother said. “Then we’ll have to hunt, and we have to cook meat to make sure it doesn’t give us food poisoning.”

“I knew that,” the kid said unconvincingly.

“Hey, did you read your chapters from the textbooks yet?” the young man asked, one eyebrow arched.

“..No,” the boy said, frowning. “But I don’t know why I have to. It’s not like I’m gonna need algebra, not anymore.”

“We’re in a school,” his older brother scolded him. “You’re getting an education. Go read at least one subject, then we can go through another room before dinner, okay?” He knew his little brother loved scavenging things in the classrooms in the abandoned school. After about six months at the school, they had covered a lot of ground, but there were still many classrooms left. It wasn’t quick work with just the three of them. They still had a lot to do to turn their fortified section of the small school into a home.

As the kid ran off, the woman set the box on the ground. “I guess I’ll keep going through this room,” she said tiredly, the smile falling off her face as she realized how much work there was left. “There might be some more good things in here. I think this teacher must have moved into their classroom really early, like pre-outbreak.”

“Okay,” the man said, picking the box up. “I’m taking this over to the office, then I’ll come back and help with the rest of this room.”

A small smile reappeared on the woman’s face, and her heart skipped a beat. It often did that in his presence, but she made sure to shove that secret deep, deep down.

“See you in a minute, then.”

***

It was days like this when Bailey really missed having a car. At least when they had a car, they could use it to transport a large quantity of supplies as they traveled. No car meant very heavy backpacks. The only thing that seemed to propel Bailey forward was the fact that the “Welcome To Cedar Cove” sign was in their sights. Not even the eighty degree weather could stop the two as they marched towards the sign, the final landmark on their journey home.

“Do you think that convenience store got raided?” Casey asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Many of the places that the twins had visited on their travels had been raided, either by people during the first outbreak panic or by travelers that came later. 

Bailey knew there was a good chance anything good in the store was already taken, but their water bottles were getting dangerously low. At the very least they could get out of the sun. If they were lucky, there would be no lurkers and they could rest for a bit.

“It’s worth a try,” Bailey said as the two turned onto the familiar road towards the small convenience store that was nested right on the border of Cedar Cove. It was a small local place where Bailey and Casey used to go during the summer for ice cream. 

As soon as the rugged building came into view, Casey’s pace picked up to a jog. He pulled the metal bat from its place hanging off of his backpack as they get closer, ready just in case something decided to jump out at them. Bailey pulled their father’s hunting knife out of its sheath attached to her belt. The trusty knife had kept them safe on more than one occasion, and had become something of a good luck charm for the two travelers.

As the two got closer, they found the store trashed. The glass doors were shattered and it looked like someone threw something through the windows. Casey went in first, pushing the door open before trying to enter the building quietly. His hiking boots crushed the pieces of glass scattered across the floor. Bailey listened closely for the groans and moans of the dead only to be met with silence. The store was torn up, shelves taken apart and broken cans of spoiled food splattered across the floor.

A waste of otherwise good food.

Bailey slowly moved to the corner of the store, looking down the aisle to the back. In the corner of the store she caught sight of a vending machine. An  _ unopened _ vending machine.

“Casey, it looks like a vending machine wasn’t broken into yet.” Bailey called over as she walked down the aisle towards the metal box of very warm soda and water. Any liquids were good liquids and a little sugar wasn’t going to hurt anyone. 

The vending machine the store had was an older model, one with a solid metal front instead of the newer versions with the glass door that let people see inside the machine. The machine was closed with a metal lock that looked like someone had tried to open it and failed. Bailey smiled as she examined the lock. If the rust was bad enough, she could use the pocket knife to-

Bailey’s thoughts stopped short when she heard a very familiar metallic click. The kind of sound a gun makes when the hammer is pulled back.

“Don’t move.” The feminine voice rang out coldly. Bailey froze, wondering how she hadn’t heard someone come up behind her. “Drop it.”

Bailey released the knife and it fell to the floor with an audible clatter that she hoped would get the attention of her brother. She raised her hands calmly, showing that she didn’t have anything else. 

“Move.” Bailey moved away from the machine at the voice, taking a few steps before turning to see her attacker.

She blinked, caught off guard by the appearance of a girl who couldn’t be much older then her. Strikes of red hair flashed behind the dark hood over her head. Icy blue eyes stayed focused on her.

“Turn that way,” the girl gestured to the right with the Glock in her hand. Bailey started to turn her whole body. “No, just your head,” the girl clarified.

Bailey gave the girl a confused look but turned anyway. After a moment, the girl seemed content and lowered the gun, but only a little. Bailey looked over the girl’s shoulder to see Casey trying to quietly round the corner. He hesitated a bit when he saw the attacker, probably expecting someone bigger. The girl was roughly Bailey’s height, give or take an inch, with a petite build that didn’t look nearly as threatening as the gun in her hand.

“We don’t mean any harm,” Casey said as he took a few steps closer. “Drop the gun.”

The girl, to her credit, didn’t even flinch. She turned her head slightly to Casey with an unamused look. That was when Bailey noticed that the girl had been very cautious of the space between her and Bailey. Bailey couldn’t disarm her, she was too far away and that would require at least two quick steps toward the girl before she could try. Casey could try to rush her, but that would risk the girl pulling the trigger on her or Casey.

“I think it’s good where it is, thanks.” It’s a bit snarky and Casey frowns, taking a tentative step forward.

“I’m warning you-”

“Hey, come on,” Bailey spoke up, not wanting the issue to escalate. “Look, we can split whatever is left in the vending machine, we don’t want any trouble.”

Casey didn’t seem terribly happy with the compromise, but the girl looks a little confused. She turned to the metal vending machine as if only seeing it for the first time. Bailey couldn’t hide her confusion. If the girl hadn’t seen what she was fussing over, why did she come at her so quickly?

There was a pitter patter down one of the aisles. Casey instantly turned to the noise as something white and fluffy pranced over to the girl.

“Doggo!” Bailey couldn’t help the childish exclamation that left her lips. The dog sat obediently by the girl’s legs, giving a slight growl in Casey’s direction. Casey slowly lowered the bat at the flash of teeth from the white floof. It took Bailey a second to realise that the girl had completely lowered the gun.

“It’s just you two, no one else?” 

“It’s just us,” Bailey said. The girl studied her face for a moment before nodding. She walked back down one of the aisles that Bailey assumed she’d come from. The twins shared a momentary look before Bailey turned back to the vending machine. Casey decided to just smash the rusted lock, raising the bat and breaking the lock in two swings. They opened the metal door, revealing the remainder of the vending machine’s contents. It wasn’t full by any means, but there was a nice variety of sodas and some water bottles left. Casey took one of the cans and opened it, hearing the satisfying fizz. He took a few swings from the can.

“Nothing like a half-flat, half-flavor soda.” Casey raised his can with a smile. The good part about soda was that it tended to keep its flavor and fizz for a while, unopened. Bad news was it wasn’t the best for preventing dehydration, but something was better than nothing. It had become a bit of a treat in the twins’ travels when they scavenged for food or water. 

Bailey smiled back and took a few of the twenty-four ounce water bottles before standing and looking through the aisles for the red haired girl. She found her crouched next to one of the shelves, grabbing a few cans of dog food off the shelf and stuffing them into her backpack. The white dog by her side looked rather happy at his selection of food. Lucky boy, there weren’t many people eager to eat dog food it seemed. When Bailey started walking down the aisle the dog looked up at her, watching her with careful eyes before wagging his tail and walking over to her.

“Can I pet him?” Bailey asked after a moment. The girl looked up, surprised for a second before she saw her dog had walked over to the stranger. 

“...Sure.” 

Bailey smiled and reached down to run a hand through the dog’s white hair. The fur was surprisingly free of tangles and, although a little greasy, was in great shape. The dog’s tail thumped happily as he got attention from the new person, his tongue dangling gleefully from his mouth.

“He’s sweet.” Bailey smiled as she moved away to offer the girl the water bottles. The girl stared at the offering with a little confusion in her blue eyes. 

“I’m Bailey.” It was a little awkward, but Bailey wasn’t sure what else to say. 

“...Skye.” The girl stood up, taking the bottles from Bailey. “That’s Jasper.”

“It’s just the two of you?” Bailey asked, remembering the girl’s previous question. She can’t help but notice the radio strapped to one side of her backpack and some kind of climbing axe hooked on the other.

“We don’t usually get along with other people,” Skye said as she shoved the bottles into her backpack. “He seems to like you, though.”

“I like him, too. Are you both going through Cedar Cove?”

“Not really. We have a camp set up here,” Skye explained. “People pass through here in larger groups a lot, usually to get to the ocean. Some of them are a little more problematic than others.”

Bailey understood that. She and Casey had gone around enough to know that there were some groups that were more trouble than others. She was sure groups of bandits or rebels had gone through the town and caused trouble. 

“Casey and I are trying to get back to Oak Street. We used to live there, and we want to know if there’s anything left.”

“There are walkers. They pass through there a lot because of the church. The bell still goes off every hour, so they go through the neighborhood to get to it.”

“You’ve been around there, then?”

“Briefly.”

"Could you show us how to get through? Past the walkers?"

“Why would I want to do that?” Skye asked with a monotone voice. She pulled her backpack over her shoulder and Jasper automatically went back to her side.

Bailey took a moment to think. She and Casey didn’t have much on them, at least nothing really worthwhile to offer. She supposed she could convince Casey to give the girl more of the contents of the vending machine. Water was like gold nowadays. It was really the only currency that seemed to matter.

Plus, Bailey was sure Jasper got hot in the August heat, so water had to mean more to this girl because it meant she could keep her companion in good health.

“We’ll give you two more of the water bottles.” 

That was Bailey’s share of the water, it was a chance worth taking in her opinion if it meant getting home. Skye thought over the offer for a minute.

“Okay.” 

Bailey smiled and went over to fetch her bag. Casey gave Bailey a confused look as she took the bottles out of her bag and brought them over to Skye. The second she handed them over, Skye raised her eyebrow at the other girl.

“No,” Skye sighed, “you can keep them until we get there.”

Bailey stared at the other girl. It took her a moment to realize that the girl was trying to be nice. That way, Skye had to hold up her end of the deal before she got what she wanted. Bailey nodded as Casey walked up, cautious of the large dog. 

“Let’s go.”

***

The teenager, barely still a teenager three years later, carefully patrolled the halls of Cedar Cove Hospital on their way back from a supply run. They eyes flicked around the narrow bloodstained halls,needles between the fingers on their left hand for defense and their right hand holding the handle of a large basket full of food and medicine.

They were desperate at this point. The small amount of chemotherapy drugs that they’d recovered in their mother’s hospital room after the outbreak had only been enough to last her a year, and the teenager knew now that they were playing a waiting game. They had just taken the last of the oxycodone tablets from their secret supply storage, it wouldn’t last a month with the pain that their mother endured from the cancer. The teenager didn’t know how long they and their mom could stay at the hospital, either: the group supply storage had become little more than a war zone, with the families of desperate patients fighting over much-needed supplies.

They sighed as they opened the door to their mother’s room, then quickly closed it, locked it, and pushed a black curtain back in front of the window on the door. Safe for now.

***

The hike up towards town was quiet. Skye wasn’t much for conversation and had a few quirks that Bailey quickly caught on to. Namely, she doesn’t like either of the twins to be behind her. It wasn’t too unusual, Bailey completely understood why someone wouldn’t trust anyone they just met to be behind them, but Skye was very obvious about her discomfort with it. If one of the twins moved out of her line of sight, she immediately moved to be able to see them. Jasper seemed to pick up on his person’s discomfort because after a while he moved so he was walking between Skye and the twins. 

As they drew closer to the edge of town, the gray buildings became more focused. The shopping district ahead of them held several blocks of stores and restaurants. Bailey remembered it being popular in the summer, especially during the high tourist months. She couldn’t recall the names of all the shops in the lively section of town, but she remembered the colors being brighter. A few of the shops used to play music. People would talk to each other with smiles on their faces as they walked through. All the locals knew each other and it had provided such as warm feeling. 

Now they seemed so dull. Many of the shops had windows broken or cracked. Cars that were lined up along the streets were left abandoned. The once lively street was now decorated with the occasional rotting corpse twisting and turning down the street. 

Skye moved slowly to the edge of the first building, slipping out of view of the few walkers that were slowly walking down the street. They dragged their feet across the pavement, letting out all-too-familiar groans and growls. The smell of rotting flesh and decay hung in the air, a clear sign that there were more walkers around somewhere. 

“Okay, so what’s the plan?” Casey whispered as Skye peeked around the corner of the building. 

“We need to get past the church before the bell rings,” Skye explained in an equally quiet voice, “Once it rings, every walker within a mile will flood this area and we’ll be stuck.” 

“Any idea how to get though?” Bailey asked.

“I have an idea.” 

The group walked behind the buildings, moving slowly and carefully to avoid making any loud noise that would attract walkers, who seemed to prefer staying in the streets to being in the alleys. Bailey wondered if that was some semblance left from when they were alive. Bailey peeked around the corner when they hit the first alley, seeing several walkers groaning at each other in the street. She felt a pit of worry forming in her stomach. The number was slowly increasing the closer they got to the abandoned church.

They slipped past the opening between the two buildings as Skye moved swiftly to the back door of the shop. She tugged the door open before slipping into the shop with Jasper at her heels.

After a moment, the door opened a little wider and the twins were able to get in.

This used to be a bookstore. Bailey realized as she noticed the shelves that had been pushed over. She knew the people who used to own this bookstore, too, an elderly couple that lived in the apartment above the shop. Skye’s waited for the two to sneak into the building by the back “Authorized personnel only” door of the shop.

“Where are we going?” Bailey asked as Jasper and Skye climbed up the steps behind the usually locked door. Bailey assumed that if Skye was forced to have the twins behind her, she was at least going to put distance between herself and them. Casey just shrugged as they followed. They reached the apartment where Skye and Jasper were already waiting, glancing out the window briefly.

The apartment itself was destroyed. The mattress from the bedroom was dragged into the main living area, and there were blood stains on everything as if a horrible fight took place. The old TV looked like someone took a hammer to it, and the glass coffee table was smashed through the center. Bailey felt sick at the scene. Those poor old shopkeepers, they didn’t deserve whatever happened in their home.

“Come on,” Skye and Jasper moved to the bedroom of the apartment. The twins follow as Skye opens the door to the small juliette balcony before turning to the white dog who was wagging his tail behind her.

“Jasper, up!” Skye crouched down a bit. The white dog leapt up on her shoulders so she could hold him in a fireman’s carry. Bailey could only watch as Skye climbed up the railing of the juliette and leapt the short distance to the building next door, she landed less than gracefully on the roof of the shorter building. 

“She’s insane,” Casey grumbled. The two walked over to the balcony and looked over to see Skye had dusted herself off and was waiting for the two to follow. “We’re following a crazy person.”

Bailey took a deep breath as she pulled herself up to the railing. She tried not to look down before she launched herself across the gap, landing very ungracefully on the roof of the shop. She ended up twisting herself into a roll to prevent herself from breaking anything, a trick she learned during her and Casey’s travels through cities. 

Casey was much better at launching himself over. He was able to land on his feet with ease. Bailey credits his years playing football in middle school, of course out of everyone there Casey would be the one to have had no trouble parkouring from a balcony to a roof.

“Now what do we do?” Casey asked as he looked over to the shop next door. “We can’t jump to that shop.”

Skye moved over to the edge of the rooftop, scanning the streets below for a second before she moved across the roof with purpose, picking up a brick and weighing it in her hand. Bailey watched with slight confusion as Skye walked back to the ledge and threw the brick over.

A second later a crash.

And then the loud echoing of a car alarm.

“Run.” Skye bolted across the roof, Jasper in tow. She slipped over the opposite edge, and Bailey thought for a second that the girl had lost her mind before she hears a metal clank. When she and Casey ran over, they saw the heavy metal dumpster that Skye had used as a stepping stone to get down from the roof. 

“Move!” 

Skye didn’t have to tell them again. The two followed her lead down the side of the building before they bolted towards the rows of houses past the church. The area was open, so they’d see walkers if they burst from the line of buildings and trees. Bailey chanced a look back to the street and saw the walkers moving in the direction of the car alarm as it echoed behind them.

Bailey’s lungs start burning as the group sprints over to the line of houses. The graveyard of the church is littered with almost as many corpses twitching at the sound of the alarm as there were six feet under. A few of the corpses turn to the group as they run, letting out groans at the movement, but not being able to decide which noise to follow. A few of them stagger a few feet towards the running group before the church bell started going off, causing more noise to add confusion to the single minded walkers. The ones who had taken an interest to the group of young adults turned back to the church building.

Skye rips the climbing axe out it’s space on her backpack, forcing one of the back windows open on the back of the first large house they came to. The lock on the window makes an audible snap when Skye applies force to the handle of the axe. She pushes it open and steps aside. Casey hesitates a moment before climbing through first, immediately drawing his bat in case there were any hidden walkers in the building. Bailey follows close behind.

“Jasper, jump!”

The white dog jumps towards the open window, getting his front paws through before Skye pushed his rear end up so he could get the rest of the way through. Skye climbed through last, closing the window as soon as she’s through. The house is quiet as the four stood there, trying to catch their breath as the sound of church bells rang through the walls of the house. 

Bailey’s lungs burned from the run as she tries to catch her breath. Her legs screamed at her to rest as she leaned against the wall. 

“That’s my cardio for the week,” Bailey joked between breaths. Casey let out a laugh and looked around the downstairs of the house they had taken shelter in. 

“We should clear the house, in case there are any walkers here, then I guess we’ll set camp for a while,” Casey said.

Bailey nodded her head as Jasper trotted around the room, tongue dangling from his mouth and he stiffed at this and that. The house itself was in decent shape for being abandoned. The furniture looked tossed around and there was some broken picture frames and items cracked or smashed but other then that there were no blood stains or evidence of death that had become common in ransacked places. 

“I’ll clear the second floor,” Casey offered after a moment, “you two will be okay down here?”

“Yeah, I think we can handle it.”

Casey nodded and moved to the stairs. Bailey turns to Skye, who had finally given in to the heat and pulled the hood off her head to reveal more of her bright red copper-toned hair. Skye whistled for Jasper as she went around towards the dinning room to start clearing the downstairs as Bailey turned to clear the other half. Bailey brushes her hand back to grasp the hilt of the hunting knife, drawing it slowly as she turns the corner to the large living area. Bailey imagined the house had to have looked like something out of a catalog at one point. The now torn leather couches and dirtied abstract carpet were reminiscent of something from an old home improvement catalog.

The church chime ends outside, leaving the house deadly quiet except for Casey’s footsteps upstairs and the softer sound of Jasper’s nails on the hardwood floors. The living room is cleared and Bailey moved over to the door that she assumed led to an office of some kind. When she swung the door open there was nothing in the office but a desk. 

Whoever had lived here clearly had some time to pack before they left. Skye rounds the corner with Jasper in tow.

“Everything’s clear.”

“It’s kinda weird to find a place without a walker trapped in it,” Bailey mused as she re-holstered the knife.

“A lot of people in this area evacuated early.”

“How do you know that?”

“My family used to live a street over, by the cul-de-sac,” Skye explained, “a lot of the more well-off families bought cruise tickets to get away from the outbreak.”

“Why cruise tickets?”   
“Some big wig in the HOA thought up the scheme to sell tickets to people to get away until the virus was dealt with. Only a limited number of tickets were sold, so a lot of people were stranded here too until they evacuated themselves.”

“That’s… not the strangest thing I’ve heard,” Bailey shook her head, “If anything, it’s pretty mild compared to other things people have done to get away from the virus.”

Skye hummed as Casey started down the stairs.

“Upstairs is clear.”

“Down here is clear too.”

“Anything good here?” Casey took a few strides towards the kitchen, “As long as we’re here, might as well see what we can salvage.”

“It’s pretty cleaned out,” Skye said as she gestured to the kitchen. 

“Then we should keep moving,” Bailey sighed, “How much farther until we get to Oak street?”

“It’s about two streets over.”

“We should get moving,” Casey shifted towards the front of the house, “If we can get there before dark we can set up camp.”

They move over towards the front of the house. Bailey glances out the small window by the front door. 

“It will take the walkers a little while to wonder back,” Skye pulled the climbing axe from it’s holder, “But just in case, we should move quickly.”

Casey nodded as he slowly opened the front door. He leads the charge as the three cross the street and move between the houses. Bailey can see the back of her familiar childhood home as they draw closer. There’s an overwhelming sense of home as her legs push her faster through the openings between houses. Casey seems to feel the same feeling of excitement as he pushes farther ahead. 

Bailey felt a smile tug on her face. They made it, they had gotten back home. Bailey pushed off a little faster as they ducked between the final two houses separating them from home. The second Bailey tries to quicken her pace to catch up with Casey, she felt something wrap around her ankle. It sent her face first into the dying grass on the lawn.

Bailey turned quickly when she heard a familiar gargle, the rotting corpse of a young woman looked back at her with white eyes. Boney fingers wrapped around her ankle as the dead woman tried to pull herself closer to Bailey. In a swift instant, Bailey kicked the corpse in the face to try to get away. The jaw of the woman made a sickening crack as Bailey tried to pull herself out of reach of the body.

The kick seemed to only anger the corpse as it let out a scream. It’s body shook violently before it was quickly silenced. In a flash the blade of Skye’s climbing axe buried itself in the skull of the corpse. The sickening sound of metal sinking into the dead brain of the creature echoed in the small alley as foul smelling blood seeped through the new wound. Skye pulls the axe out of the walker’s skull with little difficulty.

“Thanks,” Bailey took a breath, as she started to stand up.

“Come on!”

Skye yanked Bailey back up to her feet by the sleeve of her jacket as the two ran to catch up with Casey as he held the back door open for the two. They ran inside a second before Casey closed the door and locked it. 

“Home sweet home,” Casey sighed as he looked around the house. Bailey takes a moment to take in the surroundings. The house is just as trashed as the one they were in before. Her mother’s favorite pillows from the family room couch torn and tossed on the floor. Her father’s favorite set of chef knives yanked from their special place on the corner of the counter, a few missing, a few others scattered across the counters. Bailey tries to remember every picture that used to be on the wall and on the shelves before they were tossed and knocked away, becoming nothing more than glass scattered across the floor. 

_ Why had they wanted to come back here? _

It wasn’t like their parents would be waiting for them. Their mom testing out a new cookie or pie recipe for the restaurant while their dad starting dinner. There was no music or TV noise in the background. Just a quiet, ransacked, house that was a ghost of what the twins would remember.

And Skye, who seemed to be letting the twins take in the scene, shifting awkwardly in the corner of the room.

“Let’s just see if we can find anything to eat.”

Bailey nodded at her brother’s words as she walked off towards the kitchen. She figures maybe they should clear this house too.

“I’ll clear upstairs.” 

Bailey walked through the living area towards the stairs. Her boots crunch under the broken glass of her mother’s favorite ceramic pieces. Letting out a sigh she moves to pull the hunting knife from her belt as she quietly stalks up the stairs.

The house is quiet, no groaning or moaning of dead corpses. No skeletons in the closet. As soon as her brother’s closet is cleared, Bailey sheaths the knife and trudges back to her room to take in the damages. Her bed is completely torn apart, the blankets stolen and pillows tossed to the floor. Several of her plushies are torn or burned, the books on her small bookshelf were missing or torn apart. Posters and any other decorations were completely unrecognizable.

Someone went into her room and did this without a second thought.

Or more than one person. Multiple people who were struggling to survive, who didn’t care about what they had to take or destroy. In a way Bailey couldn’t blame them, but in the same breath, it hurt to see the things she used to hold dear destroyed around her.

She moves to sit on the remains of her mattress. As soon as she sits down a puff of dust goes up into the air, a reminder of how long it had been since she had slept there.

“Downstairs is clear.”

Bailey looks up to see Skye leaning in the doorway. The redhead looks around the room briefly before her blue eyes fall back onto Bailey.

“Casey found food too. There were cans in the kitchen. Whoever trashed the house didn’t look too hard.”

“Great,” Bailey muttered as she looked over to the window in her room. She used to be able to see Rory next door. The two would make faces at each other while they texted. She had been excited to be going to school with Rory before the outbreak happened.

“I’m… guessing this wasn’t what you were expecting?”

Skye took a few more steps into the room, a second later Jasper pounces through, sniffing around the area.

“I don’t know what I expected,” Bailey shook her head, “Maybe I was expecting help? Someone to say how easily everything would be now that Casey and I were home. Maybe even just… Somewhere to survive and call home.”

“There aren’t many places like that anymore.”

“What about you? Did you ever go back?”

The redhead pondered the question for a minute, hand raising to play with the ends of her hair.

“No, I never went back.”

“Why not?”

“There’s nothing for me there,” Skye sighs, “Ever has been.”

“Did you leave with your parents?” Bailey asked as she tried to start up any conversation that would take her mind off the lost hope around them.

“God no, my parents left my brother and I here.” 

Skye moved and took a seat about a foot or so away from Bailey on the mattress.

“My parents left on one of those fancy ‘glamorous survival’ cruises at the beginning. My brother got impatient and we busted the door of my dad’s office and hacked his computer to find out what was going on. By the time we realized that they had lied to us and left for good, they were already off the coast of God knows where. We tried to follow them, but it didn’t work out.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s nothing, I was used to my parents doing that kind of thing by then. It didn’t surprise me when they left,” Skye explained as Jasper walked over and sat by her feet. Skye runs her fingers over his white fur. 

“My parents helped Casey and I escape a hotel in San Francisco. There was an outbreak and they were killing everyone.” 

“I heard about that, they were executing people who might have been infected because they couldn’t figure out a way to stop it.”

“It was just Casey and I after that. We hopped around California for a while, trying to figure everything out,” Bailey leaned back a little, “Then we started heading back up here. Our dad had told us to go back home, so as soon as we got our bearings, we did.”

Skye hummed, stroking Jasper’s white fur.

“You said you and your brother were left here, so where’s he? Is that what the radio is for?”

Skye looks over to her backpack where the radio is. She leans over and picks it up pensively.

“It’s complicated, we don’t travel together anymore,” Skye stated as she turned over the radio in her hands, turning it on as soft static filled the room, “More military equipt groups use radio to communicate, so I use this to tell if there are groups like that are close by. So I know to avoid them.”

“That’s smart,” Bailey mused, “Thought I don’t know of many military style groups still around.”

“The worst of them are out there.”

The mutter is under Skye’s breath and Bailey isn’t sure if she was supposed to hear it.

“What did you do after you and your brother split up?”

“Well then,” Skye stood up suddenly, Jasper tilting his head at her and standing up, “I have to keep some of my secrets. Wouldn’t want to lose my air of mystery.”

Bailey’s lips twitched into a slight smile at the girl’s sarcastic tone.

“Okay, okay, no more questions,” Bailey stood up with her, “for now. Let’s go help Casey with food, then we can set up camp here for the night.”

“Okay,”

Skye rests the radio down on the beaten nightstand, the soft static traveled through the room as the two head back downstairs to join Casey.

***

The principal’s office was the only place with a desk big enough to work with the old vintage radio that the young man had brought with him to the school. It was stress relieving at times just to mess with the radio, changing dials and listening to the soft static. In another life is father would laugh and sit down next to him, turning the dials until they landed on a station that played old jazz or something of the sort. 

The radio could also send out signals, it was his father and a few of his oldest friends favorite way to communicate. Who needed a cell phone when you had a radio? At the time it might have seemed crazy, but right now it seemed like a lifeline.

The school was too big for three people to maintain. One of the options that played on the young man’s mind was whether or not to try to recruit others. Maybe there were more Berry High students that were caught up in the hellish landscape that was now Cedar Cove. There was a fear however, of recruiting the wrong people. What if there were people who would come and hurt them? Or maybe there were people who would use the signal as an opportunity to rob them.

It was a risk, but there was only so much the small group could do on their own. 

Step one would be finding out if there was anyone left in Cedar Cove.

He took a breath and brought the receiver to his lips.

“Hello, Is there anyone out there?”

***

_ “Is there anyone out there?” _

A heavier set young man jumped as the radio next to him came to life. The light static quickly turned into a voice. He grabbed the radio and turned it over in his hands as he looks around the pier to see if any walkers had been alerted by the sound.

Why did that voice sound familiar? 

The radio wasn’t a two way, so the teen couldn’t answer the call, but he could wait for another message. He grabbed the metal scraps he salvaged from the pier and turned to run back to his base on the beach, careful to stay on the station in case another clue came through the speaker.

***

_ “Is there anyone out there?” _

The voice startled the latina girl who had been stationed by the radio. The small group had been trying to get it back into working condition and had only recently started getting static off it. 

“Hey! It’s working!” 

The two other occupants of the house jumped up and rushed over. The taller of the two with darker skin quickly reached over to turn up the volume on the HAM radio.

_ “If anyone can hear me, please say something.” _

The tall girl’s eyes go wide as she looked over at her companions. With shaky hands she reached over and took the receiver. After a moment of hesitation, she pressed down the button on the side of the receiver to send a message back.

“Ajay?”

***

After diner, Casey had remembered that there might be something worth taking in the attic. He had pulled down some old vacuum sealed bags of clothes that the twins had stored away for the winter almost three years ago. Their parents had been excited about new storage bags that they had gotten from a friend. The vacuum sealed ones were supposed to help prevent pests and smell during storage so they had been very excited about them. Bailey was just excited for a clean T-shirt and a new pair of jeans. 

She had offered Skye a change of clothes too, at least something to replace the sweat-soaked T-shirt she had. The redhead had denied the offer the first time, but Bailey had worn her down. She didn’t see why the girl was so hesitant but after flashing a bright smile the girl gave in and took the pile of clothes Bailey had picked out for her to try on. 

Bailey started changing in her room when suddenly the static on the radio changes. She freezes as a voice crackles in the speaker.

_ “I….any….he….please...som...ing.” _


	3. In Harm's Way

**_August 6, 2021_ **

The young blond man sighed and ran a hand through his hair, trying to figure out what to write. He’d wanted to keep this diary just in case… well, just in case something happened to him. He wanted the people of the future, if there were a people of the future, to have a written record.

But he didn’t know what to write about. His dad still wasn’t home. 

_ We’ve had to assume that Dad’s gone, _ he wrote, tears streaming down his cheeks.  _ Mom won’t come out of her bedroom. I don’t blame her, but someone has to do the cooking.  _

_ Still no word from the cute neighbor. I’ve seen him a few times through the window, and he still smiles at me whenever he catches me staring. I’d be embarrassed, but I don’t think there’s enough room left in me for another feeling. _

_ It doesn’t matter, though. Even if I had a shot with him, there’s too many walkers outside on the school’s tennis court. I’m not sure why they stay there, maybe they just like the flat ground or the fences. But if I tried to go outside, I’m sure the noise I made would attract them. So I just sit here, write in my stupid notebook, and look at the stupid boy next door. It’s hardly a life. But it’s been like this for three years, and I doubt it’s going to change anytime soon. _

He closed the notebook and ran his hands over the cover. It was leather-bound, a gift from his father. On the inner cover, he’d written his name. 

Clint pushed the notebook aside almost angrily, then stood to make dinner. Even after stockpiling, he and his mom still only had enough gas to last them about three years of cooked meals. Which meant that they were about to run out, and Clint wasn’t sure what they’d do after.

He turned the valve on the stove to release the gas, and lit a match under the burner. He dumped a can of beans into a pot and stirred, waiting for them to heat up to a more edible temperature. Maybe it was a waste, but at the prospect of losing his father, Clint didn’t care.

A flash of dark hair through the window caught his attention, and he looked towards the window to see the cute neighbor again. He waved, which brought a smile to the guy’s face.

Maybe he did care. Just a little bit.

***

Bailey didn’t sleep that night. She spent the majority of the night staring at the crackling radio while Casey slept on the floor a few feet away and Skye was somewhere else in the house. While Casey had suggested that they all sleep together, Skye had been insistent that she and Jasper sleep in the next room over. Bailey wasn’t sure what the reason was, but she didn’t argue much when the girl didn’t come back to retrieve the radio.

Bailey waited to see if anything else would come through the radio, or if she would be able to hear the voice again. A few hours passed as Casey slept quietly on the floor a few feet away. Bailey listened until exhaustion got the best of her and she fell into a light sleep with the radio playing static in the background. 

***

_ The twins drove for almost three hours before the car started making a chugging noise. Bailey looked over to see her brother frowning before he pulled the car over to the side of the road.  _

_ “We’re out of gas,” Casey sighed, leaning back in the driver’s seat. The two sat in silence for a few minutes. _

_ “What are we going to do?” _

_ There was no denying what they had seen beforehand. The hotel. The infected. The men storming in with guns and killing everyone who might have been exposed to the virus. Their father telling them to go back home where he had hoped it was safe. _

_ But now they were stranded between San Diego and Cedar Cove. Their phones ran dangerously low and they wouldn’t be able to navigate home by themselves. _

_ Casey got out of the car suddenly, causing Bailey to startle for a second before she followed him out. Casey paced around the car for a moment. _

_ “We’re so done for.” _

_ Bailey didn’t know what to say. There was no way they could get home without gas or without a map or something to help them find their way home. A few cars passed them, packed to the windows with stuff. People who knew what kind of hell the highways had to be since San Diego announced an evacuation of anyone not exposed to the virus. _

_ “Hey, we’ll figure something out.” Bailey tried to look on the bright side as Casey ran his hands through his blonde hair. _

_ “...Hey!”  _

_ Casey and Bailey turn to the voice to see an older man walking over to him. He was tall and wore a bright colored plaid shirt.  _

_ “You two wouldn’t happen to have some gas to spare?”  _

_ Bailey and Casey looked at each other for a second. “Sorry, man,” Casey finally said. _

_ The man let out a sigh. _

_ “You two are stranded too, then?” The twins nodded. “Well, do you two want to travel with my friends and I? We’re headed to the coast to catch a boat.” _

_ “Wait a minute, Mark!”  _

_ The twins look over to see a well-dressed darker-skinned man rush over. _

_ “You can’t just offer to bring anyone you want.” The man crossed his arms. “They could be up to no good.” _

_ “Take it easy Cole,” The man, Mark, raised his hands, “They’re just kids. Besides, you said your friend was willing to take in our whole group. I don’t think he’d mind if a few other people tagged along.” _

_ “Good karma,” a beanie-wearing young man called from the car where the group was waiting. They’d clearly run out of gas just like the twins had. _

_ “We’re evacuating from San Francisco. Trust me, you guys do not want to go up that way. Everyone is being told to go down south.” _

_ “Infected are down there too,” Casey said slightly annoyed with the situation, “where are we supposed to go?” _

_ “We’re headed to the shortline, Cole’s friend has a boat. We’re thinking we go offshore for a while. You two can tag along.”  _

_ Bailey looked over at her brother, who didn’t even look over before answering. _

_ “Yeah, sure.” _

***

The young woman looked up as she heard the front door of the school creak open. She knew that neither the young man nor his little brother had left the building. Getting to her feet slowly, she readied the fire axe that had been laying next to her while she’d been on guard. She hefted it over her shoulder and crept closer to the door, eyeing the three shadows on the other side suspiciously.

They were far too coordinated to be walkers, the tallest of the three picking the lock on the door meticulously. The young woman called out.

“Ajay?”

Ajay ran out of the classroom he’d been organizing, appearing at her side in an instant.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, slightly out of breath. She blushed under his intense stare, but scraping at the door brought her focus back to the situation.

“Walkers?” Ajay asked. She shook her head. Ajay nodded grimly, and pulled out his pistol. His hand rested on the top of the gun, ready to cock it should the intruders prove harmful, and he moved so he was slightly in front of her. The two waited, side by side, until the scraping stopped and the door clicked open, revealing three young women standing outside. The tallest one, with dark skin and short black hair, gasped when she saw the pair.

“Ajay? Oh my god, it really is you!”

Ajay dropped his defensive stance immediately, breaking into a huge smile.

“Erin! God, I couldn’t believe it was you over the radio…”

Ajay turned to his companion, running his hands through his hair excitedly.

“Grace, it’s okay. Erin was my best friend from high school. We can trust her.”

Grace dropped her axe and brushed the hair out of her face, defenses lowered but not completely gone. Ajay placed a hand on her back, urging her forward. She tried to ignore the shivers that ran down her back at his touch, and he tried to ignore the blush that spread across his cheeks. 

Even though nothing had truly happened between the two, an awkwardness had settled over them. It colored their faces and changed the way they communicated with each other. Grace noticed that Ajay was more comfortable around her because he touched her, when he had steadfastly refused to shake her hand upon their first meeting. In the past five months they had grown to be close friends, but Grace felt a spark of potential in their relationship, something in his expression that told her she meant more to him than just that.

But with death on every doorstep, with living corpses prowling the streets, with so many dead and so much left to rebuild, there were more important things to notice. More important than the way her heart lightened when she saw him, the way she noticed the sharp line of his jaw when sun streamed through the school’s windows at just the right angle to draw shadowy lines across his face.

During the nights she had a long watch, though, she noticed how he’d come to sit beside her. How he’d tell her things he’d never told anyone: how afraid he was for Mohit, how he watched his parents die, how badly he wanted things to change. And she’d tell him things in return: how her parents never came home from work the day of the outbreak, about the long journey from Portland in a stolen ambulance, why she’d taken a chance on Ajay and Mohit on her first day at the school. It was those times that she felt closer to him than ever, and it was those times that she wanted to throw caution to the wind and take his hand, scoot closer to him, tell him the things that were always on the tip of her tongue—

She never did. The fear had something to do with it. The weight of both of their losses added on, and the burden of reconstructing a life on top of that. It seemed trivial in comparison. But that didn’t stop her blushing, the awkward conversations, the shivers down her spine.

“This is my… um, this is Grace,” Ajay said clumsily. Grace, pretending to ignore Ajay’s blunder, stepped over to the group and reached a hand out to Erin.

“Erin,” the other girl replied with a smile, shaking her hand. She pointed to the others. “That’s Natalie and Danielle. We’ve been holed up in my house for a year and a half together. Figured it was time we met some other people.”

“You’re damn right,” Ajay laughed, accepting Erin’s bear hug.

“Wait…” Erin said, pulling out of the hug. “Where’s Mohit? Is he…?” She asked, her tone dropping, face falling.

“No! No,” Ajay reassured her. “He’s right here. HEY, MO!” he yelled.

The eleven year old peeked out from behind the door frame of a classroom down the hall, but when he saw Erin, his face lit up and he ran towards her.

“You’ve grown so much!” Erin cooed, ruffling the boy’s hair. Grace relaxed completely, knowing that if Ajay knew these people well enough to let Mohit be around them, then they were definitely trustworthy.

“So,” Ajay interrupted, arms spread wide jokingly. “Welcome to Berry High.”

“Is anyone hurt?” Grace asked, checking over the three. They seemed to be in good condition, save for a nasty cut on Danielle’s arm. Grace pointed at it. “How’d you get that?”

“Got caught on a fence,” Danielle scowled, “Not from a walker. It’s fine.”

Grace stepped back, recognizing the other woman’s hostility. “I was just going to offer to bandage it. There are ways to tell if it’s a walker bite, because it would look infected.”

“And why should I let you touch my arm?” Danielle asked, still defensive. Grace crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Because I was in training to be an EMT before the outbreak,” she explained, “and I drove here in an almost fully-equipped ambulance. But if you want an infection, well, it’s your life.”

Ajay pressed his lips together, trying to fight off a grin. He made eye contact with Grace, and she noticed too easily how his eyes shone. She looked away.

Danielle’s scowl deepened before she relented, moving to follow Grace to the office where she’d set up the medical supplies. “Thanks,” she said grudgingly. Grace smiled.

***

Bailey woke up to something cold hitting her cheek. She shifted quickly, a bit startled at the touch until she noticed a large ball of white fluff standing over her with dark eyes and a happy puppy smile. The big white dog wagged his tail as Bailey slowly pushed herself up and stretched. After a moment, she realized the radio static no longer filled the small room. 

Bailey stood up and rolled up the old sleeping bag that she had gotten used to sleeping in. Jasper watched her as she reattached it to her backpack and pulled on her beaten sneakers. She frowned and turned to her old closet, trying to remember if she had better shoes. She walked over with Jasper in tow and looked through the dusty clothes and old shoes. She smiled when she pulled out a newer pair of sneakers, expensive ones that had taken almost three months working extra shifts at the diner for tip money to afford.

She kicked off her old sneakers and slipped the new ones on before going down the stairs towards the kitchen. She heard rummaging through the kitchen as she turned the corner. Casey was cracking open cans of fruit with the rusty can opener and Skye sat on the table with the radio in front of her, fiddling with it with a thin butterfly knife.

“What are you doing?” Bailey asked instantly when she noticed Skye fumbling with the radio.

“Changing the batteries, it was dead.”

Bailey nodded as she stepped a little closer. The radio could be a lifeline; there could be other survivors in Cedar Cove. 

“So...what do you do if you hear someone on the radio?” Bailey asked as Skye used her knife to reattach the battery cover. She turns the radio in her hands and turned it on, static once again filling the room for a second before she turned it off.

“Usually run the other way.”

“But how do you know if there isn’t someone friendly on the other end?”

Skye turned up to look at her, blue eyes quickly narrowing at the other girl.

“You heard something.” It wasn’t a question.

“I heard someone’s voice over the radio last night. I think there might be someone else in Cedar Cove. Maybe a group. I think we should look in to it.”

Casey thought for a minute, looking at the rations of food he had managed to dig up from the bottom of the pantry and some of the cabinets. 

“We’re low on food, there are walkers everywhere. It might be safer for us if we joined a group,” Bailey reasoned as she watched Casey mull it over. There were ups and downs to groups. Bailey and Casey were no stranger to dysfunctional groups, but they also had to admit it was easier to travel through walkers in a group. It was also easier to focus on upkeep on a camp and look for food with more people to help maintain things.

“You two can certainly go do that.”

Bailey turned to Skye as she hopped off the kitchen table, her black boots hit the tile as she turned more fully to face Bailey.

“You should come with us.”

“Groups aren’t really my thing. I told you, Jasper and I don’t really get along well with other people.” Skye shook her head.

“You can’t survive out here by yourself for that long,” Bailey tried to reason with the other girl.

“I’ve done fine so far.”

“Yeah, but...” Bailey hesitated, holding the girl’s gaze for a few moments. She didn’t know why she wanted Skye to come with them so badly. Maybe it was just her being excited to see someone close to her age after having to travel with random college students and adults for so long. Or maybe it was just because she felt a little pull towards the mysterious red haired girl. Bailey couldn’t put her finger on it, but she really didn’t want to see something bad happen to her.

Bailey’s expression softened at the thought of joining a group . It would be so nice to just… keep friends instead of watching them leave and not come back, or having them come back infected. The longer Bailey’s green eyes locked with Skye’s, the weaker the red haired girl’s resolve became until Bailey asked again.

“Please come with us. We can survive together.”

“...Okay.”

Bailey flashed a bright smile that seemed to take Skye completely off guard. 

“So what do we do now?” Casey asked as he shoved a few cans in his backpack. 

“Try sending a message back,” Skye offered as she pushed the radio in Bailey’s direction, “If we can hear them, maybe they can hear us.”

***

They were pushing it now. The hospital may have been well equipped at one point, but the supply rations had taken a huge hit. The young adult stood at the door of their mother’s room for a second, trying to figure out the best route to collect supplies to bring back up to the small camp set up in their mother’s room.

“Rory,” the woman on the bed started with a sigh, “please be careful.”

Rory turned to flash their mother a smile. “I’m always careful.”

A smile appeared on their mother’s face as she shook her head. Rory stepped out of the door and closed it softly behind them. Taking a breath, they started to walk down the hall. They tried to ignore the groaning and moaning from behind the other patients’ doors. Through the years, every time a patient died, Rory found themself locking the door instead of getting rid of the reanimated corpse. After the mobbing of the military three years ago, they just didn’t feel right dealing with the infected.

The first stop was the dispensary to restock on oxymorphone, then the kitchen to grab at least a week’s worth of cans. The good part about being stuck in the hospital was that huge stash of food that had been stored before the larger outbreaks, the hospital was equipped to feed over six hundred people plus the doctors and staff. As people evacuated or died, the food became easier to spread around, but even that stock was beginning to weaken. 

They were running low on medicine as well, at least medicine that Rory could get to. The only drugs that were around were locked up in cases in the pharmacy or the dispensary. If they could find a proper tool then maybe they could open it. But that would mean leaving their mother alone for a while, which Rory really hated doing. Their mother’s condition was getting worse every day, having evolved from a comparatively minor Stage 1 cancer to something much worse. They had to find a way to get more supplies. 

Rory tried to push back their worries for now, because they had to focus on the mission. Dispensary, then cafeteria.

***

“We brought some supplies with us,” Erin said as she rested a duffle bag on the desk of one of the classrooms. “You know how I feel about coming empty handed.”

“It’s like our freshman field trip all over again,” Natalie joked as Erin opened the bag and pulled out some of the old canned food that they’d managed to scavenge from the houses around Erin’s neighborhood. 

“It’s not much, but I hope it helps.” 

“Every bit helps.” Ajay offered a small smile to his friends as he helped Erin sort through the cans. It was nice to see some familiar faces. It was actually a relief to have people he already trusted respond to his radio message. He would have never hoped to see some of his old theatre crew again.

“So,” Natalie started with a growing grin on her face, “Grace seems nice.”

“She is,” Ajay said neutrally. “She’s helpful around here, knows a lot about emergency medicine. Mohit seems to like her.”

“You seem to like her,” Erin said, smirking. “I seem to remember that you don’t trust easily. Even when there isn’t an apocalypse.”

“She needed a place to stay. We had one. She’s been here for five months now, she’s proved herself trustworthy.”

“Five months? Sounds serious,” Natalie teased.

Ajay rolled his eyes, although both girls could see a slight smile on his face. “She’s a good friend, Natalie. That’s all.”

“Sure, that’s all she is now,” Natalie said, “But that’s not all you want her to be.”

Ajay tensed slightly. “Let’s talk about something else,” he said firmly.

Natalie tried to protest, but Erin shook her head. Ajay visibly relaxed and continued sorting the canned food. A few short minutes later, Grace and Danielle appeared in the doorway, the latter with a clean white bandage wrapped around her arm. Grace sat down on the floor next to Ajay, causing him to drop the can he was holding. Danielle sat between Erin and Natalie, and the three shared a significant glance. The group sat in a comfortable silence for a minute before Erin spoke up.

“This reminds me of sophomore year when Trevor created that ice-breaker game to get to know all the new freshmen.”

Natalie snorted with a laugh, “Oh god, the one he swore he was going to turn into a drinking game?”

“What made you think of that?” Ajay asked as he examined another can.

“Well, this  _ is _ Berry High, and we don’t know Grace yet,” Erin says with a smile. “Since we’re all going to be here, I thought it might be nice to get to know each other.”

“I have a deck of cards,” Natalie started as she reached into her pocket and pulled out an old box of playing cards.

“We might even have some stories about Ajay from back before the outbreak,” Danielle offered with a sly grin. Ajay shot her a glare.

“The game is easy, everyone gets a card and on the count of three you turn it over. Highest card gets to ask a question and everyone else has to answer honestly,” Erin explained.

“Or drink.” Natalie added. “That was Trevor’s rule for people who didn’t want to answer. We used to use root beer.”

“What do you say, Grace? Wanna play? We’ll have to use water to drink,” Danielle asked.

“Oh, sure!” Grace said, a little surprised. “It would be nice to get to know you guys.”

Ajay sighed. “Fine. Sure. Team compatibility is important. And anyways, we have plenty of water.”

Danielle, Erin, and Natalie shared a teasing look as Natalie shuffled the old cards and passed one out to everyone, face side down.

“Okay, one, two, three.”

“It looks like the odds are in my favor,” Erin smiled she flipped over her ten of clubs. The others each held lower numbered cards. “I kinda already know the answer for a few of us, but how did you guys end up at Berry High?”

“I brought Mohit here after our parents died,” Ajay answered in a tone a bit softer then normal, “It was the only place that was walker and person free.”

“Makes sense, I can’t see many people running toward a school,” Danielle said as Ajay gave a brief nod.

“What about you, Grace?”

“I’m originally from Portland. I spent the first initial outbreaks at a medical center up there before jump starting an ambulance and driving as far away as possible,” Grace offered the shortened version of the story.

“Badass.”

After a moment, Natalie passed out the next set of cards. 

“One, two, three!”

Grace smiled when she saw her Jack of Hearts while everyone else flipped over numbered cards. She thought over her question for a moment.

“How did you all meet?”

“Freshman year,” Erin started with a bright smile, “Theatre class. Ajay and I were in the same Shakespearean Theory class and we joined the Berry High Theatre Club together.”

“Natalie and I joined up our freshman year, and we met up with them during the first Theatre Club meeting,” Danielle added. “It’s too bad the outbreak didn’t hold out another year, you two would have owned the theatre department.”

“I did theatre in my high school,” Grace mentioned. “It seems like a lifetime ago.”

“That’s an understatement,” Ajay replied, lost in thought. The group was silent for a few moments, like they were remembering everything they’d lost. Everything that had changed. Then, Natalie passed cards around again.

Danielle held the highest card this time, a queen of hearts. She smirked.

“Let’s see… my question to everybody is, what do you honestly think of Ajay?”

Ajay groaned. Danielle was clearly trying to humiliate him now. Erin and Natalie both cracked smiles while Grace’s face flooded with color. “Can we not?” he asked. “Please?”

“I’ll start,” Erin interrupted. “Ajay’s always been a good friend to me. Even when he was a hardass director.” 

Danielle and Natalie both laughed and Ajay grinned, letting himself relax a little. He knew Erin was right. 

“Genius director,” Natalie said, “But no patience. At all. Whatsoever.”

Ajay rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t refute it. Danielle turned to Grace.

“Grace? What do you say?”

Grace’s face turned red, and she eyed her cup of water. She tried to stammer out an answer. 

“I, um… I think he’s… a good-”

Ajay interrupted. “Danielle, don’t ask questions that make people uncomfortable,” he said bitingly.

“I was just trying to get to know-” Danielle started defensively, before she was interrupted by a yell from Mohit, who came running out of the front office. Ajay stood up immediately.

“What’s up, Mo?”

“The radio!” Mohit said, out of breath. “I heard someone.”

Ajay furrowed his brows. “Who did you hear?”

“A girl,” Mohit said. “She said she was with two others, just outside of Cedar Cove. I couldn’t hear much, though. The signal faded in and out.”

Ajay’s eyes glinted. “Let’s go figure out how to make it stronger, then.”

  
  


***

“I don’t think anyone can hear me.” Bailey lowered the radio, glancing at the two other occupants of the room. 

“What do we do now?”

“Give up?” Skye offered.

“Or,” Bailey thought for a minute, “We try to get a better signal.”

“How do we do that?” Casey asked as he walked around the island.

“We’d have to get closer to the signal. It’s probably just outside the range of the radio if you were able to hear broken voices before,” Skye said as she shouldered her backpack.

“What if we tried to use the broadcasting equipment from the radio station?”

“It’s unlikely all the equipment is working,” Skye hesitated for a second, thinking, “But if we can connect the radio up to a booster at the station that would help us extend the radio signal. It might help us receive the signal better.”

The twins stared blankly at the redhead.

“Oh my god,” Casey spoke first, bursting into a grin, “She’s a techie.”

“Do you want my help or not?”

“Help, please.” Bailey elbowed her brother to get him to stop grinning. “So do we wait for the walkers to follow the church bell again and make a run for it?”

“No, the station is too far away. The walkers stay close around the mall. It’s almost impossible to get through.”

“We don’t need to go through the mall, though,” Casey pointed out. “We just need to get to the office. So if we go around we can probably avoid getting surrounded and eaten alive.”

“Probably,” Skye rolled her eyes.

“I don’t think we have much of a choice,” Bailey pointed out. “Come on, if we hurry we can get back before nightfall.”

Casey led the trio out the front door. Several walkers lazily dragged their feet through the street. Casey pulled the bat from his backpack, glancing over at Bailey with a nod. The group charged across the street. Casey made quick work of walkers that crossed their path with a swift whack on the head. Not all the walkers dropped dead, but it stunned them enough for the three to run past. 

Bailey caught a flash of white as Jasper burst ahead, slamming his head against the leg of a walker and continued running. The walker fell to its knees a moment before Skye’s climbing axe pierced it’s skull. 

The walkers thinned out as they ran in the opposite direction of the church and across the street by the far end of the public park. A few lone walkers groaned from the mature trees as the trio ran past. Bailey saw the exterior of the Cedar Cove mall start to appear through the gaps between the houses that lined the street.

Casey stopped short the second they got to the last line of houses separating them from the mall. 

“Shit.”

Skye hadn’t been kidding when she’d said the mall was swarming with walkers. There had to be at least a hundred of them around the exterior of the mall itself. The worst part of it was the horrible screaming every few minutes.

“Howlers.” Casey shook his head, looking around the area. After a few years, the twins had noticed a change in some of the walkers. As the bodies decomposed and the virus mutated over time, they eventually took on a new form called Stage Two. The walkers dripped green venom and let out horrible screams rather than the usual groans. The screaming was how they seemed to control the weaker walkers.

“No wonder the walkers settled here,” Bailey added as another scream rang out. As the howlers made noise the other weaker Stage One infected followed them.

“I told you.”

The three watched from their place for a few moments. Jasper whimpered as a few lazy walkers seemed to realize that the living young adults were near. 

Bailey thought for a second, looking around to see if there was somewhere close to take cover where they could think up a game plan. Her eye caught something a few yards away that seemed to be a saving grace. In a quick motion she felt herself reach over and smacked Skye on the arm to get her attention. She felt the redhead jolt at the sudden touch and turn to her quickly.

“Skye!”

“What?” Skye looked at her incredulously as Bailey pointed to the white news van parked in the employee parking lot behind one of the shops on the main street. 

“Would that work?”

Bailey turned to catch the calculating look on the other girl’s face as she looked over at the van. 

“That could work.”

“Let’s go then,” Casey pushed forward first as the trio maneuvered themselves so they were as far as possible from the large horde by the mall. It would be easier to deal with the Stage One infected on main street then the infected and howlers grunting and screaming around the mall. Bailey pulls the side doors of the van open to reveal the audio and visual equipment in decent shape. 

The three climb into the van and closed the door behind them after Jasper jumped through. The large white dog immediately jumped over to the passenger seat of the van as Casey climbed into the driver’s side, looking around at the meters.

“There’s still gas in here,” Casey pointed out as he looked around the front, he pulled the mirror down to have a ring of keys fall into his lap, “Jackpot.”

“Looks like we were due for some good luck,” Bailey smiled as Casey leaned back in the driver’s seat, “Now we just need to know where to go.”

Bailey looked over in time to see Skye pull a butterfly knife from her back pocket. She flicked her wrist a few times to expose the thin blade before going to work on the radio, taking refuge on one of the chairs in the back facing the computer.

Bailey settled on the floor across from where Skye was working. Now it would become a waiting game until Skye figured out how to make the signal stronger. Bailey closed her eyes and leaned back, still able to hear the faint screaming from the howlers a little ways away.

“You still think there are good people out there.” 

Bailey opened her eyes and looked in Skye’s direction as she fiddled with the inner components of the radio.

“I think there has to be,” Bailey started as she watched the redhead work. “I mean, I think you’re a good person. You did save me once already. I think the person on the radio could be a good person.”

“I’m not a good person,” Skye said, her tone suggesting that what she said was a fact. Bailey waited for her to elaborate, but no elaboration comes.

“You don’t think there are good people out there?”

It almost seemed like Skye ignored her, as she didn’t look up immediately from her work. Bailey waited a few moments before deciding that maybe she should leave the other girl to work. She was almost ready to get up when she heard Skye answer her.

“I only know one good person.” Skye’s voice went softer then Bailey had ever heard it, “But I don’t know if they’re still alive.”

Bailey felt some of the girl’s pain from her words. 

“What happened?”

“We got separated. We were ambushed by bandits and lost each other in the woods.”

Bailey gives a weak nod. “Was it just the two of you?”

“Not always,” Skye looked up from the radio, “Do I get to ask a question now?”

“Oh, sure!”

“What happened to your group?”

Bailey blinked and looked over to her brother, who had dozed off in the driver’s seat. “My group?”

“Yeah. No offense, but you and your brother come off as the kind of people who have had others helping them through most of this. I imagine you two were behind the front lines a lot because you two were young?”

Bailey hesitates before giving a quick nod.

“It kinda shows. Especially since you almost gave me the water before I even helped you. I could’ve just ran off with it, you know.”

“But you didn’t,” Bailey pointed out. “Because you’re a good person.”

Skye snorted. “You don’t know me that well.”

“I have a feeling,” Bailey smiled. “I’m pretty good at figuring people out.”

Skye went back to work on the radio. Bailey flashed a smile at her before leaning back again. 

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“Oh,” Bailey opened her eyes but didn’t move to sit back up. “Well, a lot kinda happened. After the outbreak, my brother and I joined a group. We traveled with them for a while. We ended up going south because we thought that would be safe. We settled in Mexico for a while because that’s where Cole, one of the group members, had connections. Eventually we left with Mark, who traveled with us and a few others as we made our way back to the States. We ended up getting mixed up with another group. Things went south and Mark was killed.”

“I’m sorry.”

“We’ve been on our own since then.”

The two fell into a comfortable silence as Skye went back to work. Bailey listened as Skye moved components and wires inside the radio, replacing certain parts and adjusting others. Bailey was thankful that Skye didn’t ask any other questions; the memory was painful enough without having to go into more detail than necessary.

After thirty minutes of Skye tinkering with the radio and the occasional groaning of the dead outside Bailey hears static fill the van as Skye turns the radio back on and hands it over to her. Bailey smiles as she stood up and took the enhanced radio. She listens to the static for a moment before taking a breath and pressing the button to speak.

“Can anyone hear me? Are you still there?”

***

Ajay was fumbling with the radio when the voice came over the speakers. He grabbed the receiver to respond to the girl on the other side.

“I can hear you. Who is this?”

It takes a minute for the voice to respond.

_ “Bailey. I’m traveling with my brother, Casey, and Skye.” _

So there were three people, like Mohit had said. 

_ “We don’t mean any harm. We’re just looking for somewhere to call home.” _

Ajay thought for a second. The girl sounded young, but that was no excuse for not being careful. Erin was one thing, but this was someone he didn’t know.

“We have a base set up at Berry High School. If you’re serious about not causing any harm, you’ll drop your weapons as soon as you meet us at the entrance.”

_ “Okay, we can do that.” _

“Good. We’ll discuss more in person.”

Ajay sighed. This was a risk. But if they wanted to survive, they needed the manpower to make it possible. If there was a chance that there were trustworthy people out there, then it was worth the risk.

Ajay sighed again and leaned back in the principal’s chair. Grace had brought out this nicer side of him. He couldn’t tell whether that was a good or bad thing, but if these people helped make the school home and could make Grace and Mohit happy, that was a risk he was willing to take.

***

_ Supply runs were supposed to be easy. Run to the station, get supplies, run back. Kill anything that got in the way. Usually the bags were filled by whoever was stationed at that warehouse at the time, however, this time the front entrance had been empty, the door open.  _

_ Whatever, maybe they had gone out on a raid. _

_ It wasn’t unusual for runners to have to fill their own packs. They just had to sign out what they took. In this case it was supposed to be some canned food and dried meat. The food was usually stored in the lower floor where it could be kept colder. That day, however, there was something else in the storage unit. _

_ A walker. A walker that was tied to the chair, slashing and biting at Skye as she got closer. The walker had the body of a young girl, dark auburn hair and thin paper skin. Its eyes cream white with all the life drained out. Why it was tied there was beyond Skye, but it certainly was in the way. Rules were rules.  _

_ Skye flipped open the butterfly knife at her side. In one quick motion she buried the blade into the walker’s temple. Instantly, the walker stopped its thrashing as dark decayed blood poured out of the wound and coated the knife. _

_ She yanked the blade from its skull and was about to turn to get the supplies she needed when she heard a voice behind her. _

_ “Why would you do that?” _

_ She turned and saw the familiar face of the boy who usually did the supply packing for her when she came to pick up. His long, shaggy brown hair was trapped beneath a beanie, his clothes were wrinkled and torn. His eyes gave away the fact that he hadn’t slept in days. _

_ “Why would you kill her?” _

_ The words were harsh and the girl felt herself backing up a little as he advanced on her. He raised his fists and suddenly rushed her. Skye dodged and his fist hit the air a few inches from her nose. As soon as her back hit the shelf, a familiar fear crept up her spine. The boy grabbed something off the shelf and raised it high to hit her with. _

_ It was a sudden reflex as she thrust the knife forward, burying it between the boy’s ribs. The object the boy had raised dropped to the floor with a loud metallic crash. The boy met the girl’s eyes as if seeing her for the first time. His hand reached out to grab at his side while the other flew forward, gripping the girl’s hair in a tight grip.  _

_ When he fell to his knees he forced Skye down with him. _

_ “Why did you… Jane,” _

_ “I’m not Jane,” her voice trembled as the boy’s hand yanked harder at her hair. _

_ “Jane, please!” It was like he couldn’t hear her, “Why did you attack me?” _

_ “I’M NOT JANE!” _

_ The boy’s face suddenly filled with rage. He pulls his hand forward and tried to wrap it around her throat. _

_ “Don’t lie! Don’t lie! Don’t lie! You killed Jane!” _

_ The girl yanked the blade from his ribs and swung her arm high, burying the blade in his temple as he tried to press against her windpipe harder.  _

_ She watched as all the light drained from his eyes before he went completely limp. The hand on her throat fell to the ground before the rest of him fell sideways.  _

***

Skye jolted awake from the nightmare, her heartbeat pounding in her ears as she frantically looked around the interior of the van. She saw the twins fast asleep in the front seats as the events of the day came back to her. Bailey had informed Casey of her conversation on the radio once he’d woken up. The three had decided to camp out in the van for the night before driving it over to Berry High the next morning.

Jasper whimpered and walked over to her, resting his head on her lap. She must have woken him up when she’d woken up from her nightmare. Skye tried to relax, running her fingers through the white fur for a few seconds. 

Skye closed her eyes for a second, testing whether or not sleep would come back to her. After a few minutes she let out a sigh and opened her eyes again, staring into the darkness of the van. She turned her head and caught a glimpse of Bailey sleeping. The blonde slept curled into a ball on the seat. 

The girl held a strange warmth. Skye smiled and for a moment the decaying corpses didn’t exist. 

This world should have destroyed her light a long time ago. How was it possible that someone could hold such warmth in the same world that had torn Skye’s soul apart in less than a year? Sometimes the redhead didn’t even feel human. 

Skye’s smile faded. She shouldn’t stay. If she stayed she would only kill the other girl’s light. She was broken in ways that could never be healed. She would hurt anyone who didn’t know the full evils of the world they now lived in.

“...Skye?”

Skye turns her head sharply to the voice as Bailey shifted and raised her head from her seat. 

“You okay?” Bailey’s voice was filled with concern that Skye knew she didn’t deserve. 

“Can’t sleep.”

Bailey nodded and shifted a little so she could better look at the other girl. “Nightmares?” 

Skye could only nod into the darkness. 

“What are they about?”

Skye could only see the life leaving from someone’s eyes. She unconsciously rubbed her hands together as if trying to wipe away the blood. She must have taken too long to answer because she heard Bailey shift. She looked up to see Bailey moving over to the back, sitting across from Skye on the floor of the back of the van.

“What are you doing?” Skye asked as Bailey made herself comfortable.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Bailey laid back down on her side. “I’ll sleep here. If you have another one, wake me up. We can talk until morning if that makes you feel better.”

Skye stared at Bailey for a few minutes, watching the girl’s breath even out. Skye knew she probably wouldn’t fall back asleep, but she leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes anyway.

Maybe there were at least two good people in the world.

***

Their luck only lasted until the early hours of the morning. The trio were rudely woken up by the sudden screaming of howlers very close to the van. Jasper had started getting anxious and was pacing around the back of the van as Bailey and Skye moved closer to the front.

The walkers had started surrounding the van, however it seemed like they hadn’t noticed that there were people inside of it yet. Maybe if they stayed quiet long enough, the walkers would slowly travel away from the van.

Bailey looked over at Casey who was looking straight out the windshield with a wild look in his eyes His hand clenched the key that he had thrust into the ignition of the van. 

“Casey–” Bailey didn’t have time to finish her thought before Casey turned the key. The engine roared to life a second before Casey stomped on the gas. Bailey and Skye fell backwards, hitting the floor of the van with a thud as Casey steered wildly through the crowd of walkers.

“What the hell?”

Bailey looked over as Skye tried to push herself back up. Jasper whimpered farther back, having hit the back of the van. Casey took a sharp turn as the van jerked in the opposite direction, fishtailing a bit before straightening out.

Bailey grabbed the back of the passenger seat and forced herself forward so she could glimpse out the window, seeing the houses and stores of main street passing by them.

“I think you can slow down now.” 

Casey turned hard again and Bailey felt a jolt as the van hit something. Casey muttered about more walkers as he tried to make another very sharp turn. The van, however, had other plans.

The metal box took the turn too sharply, ending up on its side in a crunch of metal. It only took a few seconds for the tires to leave the road and the white box to slam into the side of the road.

The groaning of the dead crept closer as Bailey tried to force herself back up, blood running down her face from her nose as Skye shoved the door open.

“We need to take cover.”

Skye helped Jasper out of the van first. The dog jumped down and limped slightly as he waited for the people to come out of the van. 

“Casey, come on!” Bailey leaned over and pulled at her brother in the driver’s seat. He let out a yell as he shifted, revealing a deep cut gushing blood on his left bicep. 

“We need to leave,” Skye called as she glanced over the rim of the door, “or we’re going to get surrounded.”

Bailey nodded. She didn’t have time to be gentle as she pulled Casey to his feet, him groaning in pain. Skye climbed up the side of the van to help from above as the two worked to pull Casey from the van. As soon as Casey was out, Bailey jumped to grasp the ridge of the door and pulled herself up. 

“Bailey,” Skye called as she gestured to one of the houses, balancing Casey with his arm slung over her shoulders. 

Bailey jumped down and helped Skye balance her brother’s weight as they rushed over to one of the houses. They knew they’d have to at least get one street over before it was safe enough to take cover without the walkers breaking down the door. Casey whimpered as they raced between the houses, the walkers still moving towards the van.

Skye moved out from supporting Casey for a second to pull her axe and rip the door open. Bailey pulled Casey inside with Jasper following close behind them. Once the door closed, Bailey lowered Casey to the ground to better check his injury. 

“I’ll check the house,” Skye offered as she turned the corner.

Bailey only nodded as she looked over at her brother’s torn up arm. The injury was worse than she thought, another cut on his shoulder from the broken window glass and a third a little lower down by the elbow. She pulled out her backpack and searched through it for the sad excuse of a first aid kit. They didn’t have much left besides some bandages and a quarter of a container of hydrogen peroxide. 

Casey did his best to help get out of his jacket before Bailey dumped the entire contents of their peroxide onto the cuts. Casey yelled out in pain before Bailey pressed the last of the gauze pads to the deeper wounds.

Skye rounded the corner a few minutes later. Bailey had forgotten about the blood running down her face before Skye handed out a small white box.

“Here.” 

Bailey looked for a moment to see it was a tin. She took it from Skye and opened it to see there were more first-aid scraps.

“You’re bleeding too.” 

Bailey raised a hand to her face to wipe away the blood. Her nose wasn’t broken, but it was sure to be bruised tomorrow. 

“What do we do now?”


	4. Long Road Ahead

_ August 9, 2021 _

_ Life as I know it has fallen apart. _

The young man shook as he wrote, huddled in the corner of an unfamiliar building. There hadn’t been anywhere else for him to go.

_ I found Mom, or what used to be Mom, in her bedroom yesterday. I knew it wasn’t her, but I couldn’t kill her. So I locked the door and jammed it from the other side with furniture, and I ran. _

_ I’m a coward. _

He wiped a tear from his eye, determined to finish the entry before he was interrupted.

_ I hid out in dumpsters for a while. The smell was awful, but it was a safe place. That was when Graham, the neighbor, found me. He looked like he had been sleeping on the ground too, and I guess we sort of bonded over that. That and dead parents. _

_ Is it weird that I don’t feel anything about Mom dying? I just hate myself for not being able to kill  _ _ her _ _ the thing that used to be her. I might be in shock. Whatever the case is, Graham and I found a building to hide out in. It’s near the old high school, and the other day Graham swore he saw someone moving around inside. I think he’s seeing things, or that it’s just a walker, but he wants to go check it out. So once we find food, we’ll do that. _

_ God, I’m so hungry. At this point, I’m counting on miracles just to live another day. _

***

Infected were weird. Trevor watched as several struggled to drag their decaying bodies up the staircase as he sat at the top. The radio had been going off more and more as he listened to the voices talk back and forth. After a while, the male voice revealed where the signal was coming from. Luckily for Trevor, it was an easy trip from his hideout by the pier to the high school.

The infected corpses tried to climb over each other in a pitiful display of slow-moving limbs and cracking joints. They were interesting to watch. They moved like something out of a video game, some impulse in their decaying brains making their movement seem almost human. Sometimes they were more interesting than people. 

Trevor had developed a habit of examining them after he split from his last group. The dead were almost as interesting as the tech that used to intrigue him. Sometimes he would see how the dead worked, finding a secluded walker and seeing how he could manipulate its movement and behavior by throwing stones or creating loud noises with the old attractions at the pier. Sometimes he would set up one of his small rigs and seeing how different small scale explosions or shrapnel affected them.

The infected he had been watching had died only a few months ago, probably washed up on the beach and wandered over to the few beach houses that lined the shore. Trevor could tell by the thickness of the skin that they hadn’t gotten a chance to decompose as long as some of the other walkers that roamed the beach. They also lacked the maggots that some of the older walkers had developed.

Trevor stood up and turned to move down the hallway. He had raided through this house before and had used the top floor to store some tech he’d managed to salvage from the beaten down pier attractions and to keep whatever project he was working on. He strode into one of the rooms to pick up his backpack, checking to ensure he had everything he’d need for the next few days while he checked out this group at the school.

***

Casey’s wounds had finally stopped bleeding. Bailey sighed as she glanced over at the now empty containers from her and Skye’s combined first-aid scraps. She wished she had thought to bring extra clothes from her house to use as bandages, but realistically there was no room in her pack or in her brother’s pack with the water, soda, and food that they had packed up. The sleeping bags also added bulk that left little to no extra room for anything else.

She hated living out of a backpack, there never seemed to be enough of anything. The only thing she could think about was getting to the school. Right now that was the only option they had.

“Hey,” Bailey looked up to see Skye standing by the entrance of the kitchen, “There isn’t much else here.”

Skye had scouted the house to see if there was any first-aid supplies that they could use to help Casey’s cut, but the house they were currently in looked well raided. Almost everything of value was taken except for a few pairs of shoes in closets and a can or two of dog food, which Skye had taken for Jasper. 

“We have to move, then,” Casey grunted from his space on the floor. He pushed himself up a bit, gritting his teeth as he tried to move his arm as little as possible. 

“You sure you’re okay to move?” 

Bailey stood up as her brother pushed to a standing position. He glanced down at his arm for a moment before looking back up at Bailey.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

The three took a final look around the house before metally preparing for hike to Berry High.

“Let’s get moving.”

***

“How did you even...” Ajay runs a hand through his hair mid-sentence, not able to finish the question as Danielle continued cleaning the sniper rifle she somehow managed to acquire.

“There is no way this is the strangest thing you’ve seen someone find,” she retorted.

Ajay knew that was true. 

“I don’t want guns in the school.”

“...You’re kidding, right?” Danielle asked as she started putting the rifle back together. “There are dead things ready to eat us and you want to take away the things that keep us safe?”

“I don’t want guns around Mohit,” Ajay clarified. “He’s a kid.”

“He’s growing up in the apocalypse, Ajay. One way or another, he's going to have to learn eventually.”

“He won’t have to.”

Danielle shrugged and went back to tending to her gun. Ajay crossed his arms as he stood there, unmoving until Danielle looked up again.

“What?”

“I’m serious,” Ajay dropped his arms, “You need to store that somewhere Mohit won’t get to it.”

Erin stepped out of the classroom they had been trying to sort through, carrying a large box filled with old workbooks that she wasn’t sure were worth keeping or putting in the kindle pile.

“You two fighting again already?” Erin asked with a little sigh, “Some things haven’t changed.”

“Danielle thinks I’m kidding about my no gun rule. I don’t want any guns within the school walls.”

“Then where are we supposed to put them?”

“What if we used the teacher’s lounge as an armory for all the firearms?” Erin interjected, “It locks with a key so you won’t have to worry about Mohit around the guns.”

“Not a bad idea, I’m going to check out the teacher’s lounge. If the lock hasn’t been kicked in we can set up an armory there.”

Ajay walked down the hall after he offered Erin a quick nod. The group was going to grow, especially with three more on their way. Ajay wanted to establish ground rules. He wanted to keep everyone inside the school safe, and he wanted to start with what seemed obvious to him. Guns were just as dangerous as the walkers and infected and they shouldn’t be allowed inside the school, especially if Ajay didn’t know or trust the people that could be using them. The armory was a good idea. That way everything was locked away, including his own handgun. One less thing for him to worry about Mohit getting into.

The teachers’ lounge door was still intact. Ajay swept his hand over the top of the doorframe to reveal the very poorly hidden key. He unlocked the door with a twist of the wrist and pushed the door open. The door rejected the move for a second, the hinges slightly rusted and unused to having to move. Ajay pressed harder into the door with his shoulder. The door gave a tired crack before creaking open.

The teachers’ lounge wasn’t very big, decked out with an old couch, a dusty coffee table, a coffee machine in the corner, and a small fridge. There were longer tables set up for the teachers to have lunch with a few stray chairs. A bookshelf filled with aged books accompanied an old box style TV sat on a short entertainment station against the wall. Ajay thought some of the furniture might be salvageable. There was also nice amounts of storage space for guns and ammunition.

Ajay was thinking about how to remove the couch when he heard someone take a few pensive steps into the room behind him.

“Uncover anything interesting?” Grace asked as she looked around the room. Ajay felt himself smile as he turned to her.

“A decent couch and a perfectly functioning locked door. I’m thinking we keep all the guns somewhere Mohit can’t get to them.”

Grace gave a little nod as she looked around. 

“More kindling.”

The one thing the school seemed to be full of. There was plenty of paper and wood.

“Too bad we have no electricity,” Ajay mentioned as he walked over to the coffee machine. “I never thought I’d miss coffee so much.”

Grace couldn’t help the little giggle that passed her lips.

“After hearing some of Erin’s stories, I can picture you shouting orders from the front row of an auditorium with a coffee in one hand and a script in the other.”

Ajay cracked a smile despite himself. At least Erin’s stories were better then Danielle’s.

“I wish I could say she exaggerated.”

The two share a small smile before falling into a comfortable silence. Ajay liked these moments. Moments were he could completely let his guard down for a moment. He was about to move closer to her— to do what, he didn’t know— when Danielle rushed into the room, a panicked look on her face.

“Someone’s here.”

The words set off a little alarm in Ajay’s head. He gave a quick nod, and he and Grace turned to follow Danielle down the halls towards the main entrance of the school. It could be Bailey and her group. Ajay felt the slight anxiety of meeting a new group of people. The thought of not knowing if they were trustworthy or not.

Danielle threw open the door and raised her rifle for a second before completely dropping it, shellshocked.

“Hey guys, long time no see.” 

“Trevor?” Danielle called as she lowered her weapon completely. “What the hell?”

“Good to see you too,” Trevor smiled, taking in the sight of the familiar group of people.

“What are you doing here?” Natalie asked.

“I heard Ajay’s broadcast and thought I’d come over.” 

“Why didn’t you say anything back?” Ajay asked as he shook his head, amazed at how the first few people who come over to the school were all people he knew.

“I can’t! The radio I have doesn’t send out a signal,” Trevor explained as he shook his head, “So I just had to listen while you talked to those other people.”

“Small world,” Danielle murmured, “Welcome back to the theatre club.”

“Seems to be the trend,” Ajay murmured incredulously as he turned to see Grace, “Grace, this is Trevor. Believe it or not he’s another theatre kid.”

“I think I remember Natalie talking about him,” Grace recalled, “You invented the ice-breaker game.”

“You guys played without me?” Trevor asked in mock offense, “I guess I’ll have to catch the next round. I brought something to make it a little more interesting too.”

Ajay narrowed his eyes, slightly worried.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’ll see.”

***

Graham knew he had to have seen someone walking around the inside of the high school. Clint didn’t seem to believe him, but Graham couldn’t really blame him for that. There were a lot of walkers around and to the untrained eye, he supposed it was easy to mistake a walker for a person. But the way things moved behind the dull glass windows of the school seemed more alive then the typical walker.

He hoped he could convince Clint to take a walk over later, but for now he wanted to focus on food. Graham looked down at the can of fruit he managed to find in a long abandoned house. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. Graham ducked into the building he had been using as shelter, quickly noticing the sandy-haired teen writing away in his journal.

“Hey,” Graham flashed a smile as he walked over with his find, “Hungry?”

“Starving. Did you find anything?”

Graham sat down beside the smaller boy, setting the can down for a moment before pulling off his backpack. He pulled out the old pocket knife he had found a few days back and started stabbing through the top of the can.

“Careful, you might cut yourself.”

“It’s okay, I’ve done this before.” Graham assured as he stabbed through the metal of the can, “These cans can be a little tricky but if you cut it open just right-”

Graham trailed off as he turned the blade and used it to pry the can open. He offered it to Clint, who took the can after a moment. He watched Clint think for a second before diving in, using his hands to shovel chunks of fruit into his mouth.

“So what happens now?”

“We try to find living people.”

“You said something about the school,” Clint paused his eating to look over at the other boy. “You really think there are people there?”

“I have a good feeling about it,” Graham flashed a reassuring smile, “I trust my instincts.”

“I guess I can trust them too.”

Graham considered the smile Clint flashed a small victory. Clint hadn’t really smiled much since he found his mom. Graham understood why, but he didn’t want to see the sadness in Clint to consume him to the same point it had consumed his mother. Graham leaned back a little against the wall as he took a steady breath. He hoped his feeling about the school was right.

***   
Casey had slowed dramatically since they’d started. Bailey was sure the bleeding had stopped, but the angry mark was still sure to hurt. Casey trudged along at a walker’s pace while Bailey took the lead. Skye was a few paces behind with Jasper. 

“We’re almost there.”

Neither of her companions answered her. Casey was cradling his injured arm while Skye looked like she was nearing the end of her energy tank as well. Jasper still had a slight limp from the car crash and would sit down and stare at the people while Skye tried to get him to move. At one point she gave up and just carried him for about half a mile before they ran into some walkers and she was forced to put him down to deal with them.

Bailey heard Jasper start whimpering again. She turned to see Skye stop.

“Jasper, up.” 

The dog got excited at the idea of not having to walk, he jumps up into Skye’s arms as she carried him with her arms supporting his chest and legs like one would carry a small goat. Bailey stopped for a second as Skye tosses her head to the side quickly to try to move the hair out of her face.

“I have a hair tie if you want it,” Bailey offered as she reached around her wrist where she kept a few spares, “I can pull your hair up for you while you hold Jasper?”

“It’s fine.” 

The answer was quick, and Bailey almost didn’t think before taking a few steps forward anyway as she pulled the tie from her wrist. Skye startled a little at her quick approach, taking a step back with Jasper in her arms. Bailey stopped for a second before she remembered Skye’s dislike of people behind her. Tying her hair back for her would require Bailey to stand behind her, and if that was something that Skye was uncomfortable with, it probably wasn’t worth the fight.

“Are you sure?”

Skye nodded and Bailey put the tie back on her wrist as Skye got Jasper settled again.

“I can see the school!” 

Bailey looked over to see Casey pointing towards the building with his good arm. She smiled and looks over at Skye to flash the grin her way before turning to lead the group to what she hoped would be their salvation.

As they drew closer, Bailey couldn’t help but be a little amazed at how well the school survived the last three years. It didn’t look like many windows were broken and the outside of the building lacked a lot of the typical damage some other buildings had acquired over it. The courtyard of the school was empty as the trio crossed over onto the school grounds. Skye gently put Jasper down as they looked around.

“I wonder where everyone is.” 

Bailey caught a glimpse of a dark tiger-shaped statue by the main entrance. Jasper jumped up to rest his front paws against the base of the statue, curiously touching noses with the tiger. Bailey chuckled at bit at the big white dog before she heard the sounds of the main opening.

The trio stopped like deer in headlights as three figures emerged from the school. The two groups just stood looking at each other like neither side really knew how to proceed from there.

“You’re Bailey?” The taller black haired boy asked in a stern voice. 

“That’s me.”

“Good.” The young man relaxed only a bit. “You remember our deal, then. Drop your guns.”

The twins shared a look as Skye hesitated a second. Bailey turned to make eye contact with her and nod, subtly trying to encourage her that it was okay. Stiffly, Skye moved to retrieve her gun from his spot tucked under her belt. In a quick move she removes the clip and opens the barrel to reveal it wasn’t loaded before placing it on the ground. Bailey couldn’t help but notice the completely absence of bullets.

It had been empty the entire time.

The black haired boy gave a little nod as Skye took a step away from the gun on the ground. He then made a face at the white furball that stood by Skye’s legs.

“What’s that?”

“A dog.”

The black haired boy let out a sigh.

“You didn’t mention the dog.”

“I didn’t think the dog counted,” Bailey tried to explain, trying to ignore the slightly offended look from Skye, “since he’s not a person.”

“He could be dangerous.”

He looked at the dog as if contemplating what to do with it while Jasper stayed glued to Skye’s side. After a moment Bailey heard a gasp from the main entrance.

“It’s not allowed in the school.”

“But-” Bailey tried to argue but the boy shook his head.

“My rules, you can always go somewhere else. Now, you two remove your guns as well.”

“We don’t have guns,” Casey explained as he gestured to the bat sticking out of his backpack. “I’m more of a sports guy myself.”

The young man frowned and narrowed his eyes at the twins for a moment. The other two women hadn’t said anything during the interaction, but were clearing watching the three teens closely. The taller girl with dark skin seemed far less worried about them then the shorter Latina holding a very intimidating rifle. 

“We can show you our bags,” Bailey offers, “If you don’t believe us?”

Casey and Bailey dropped their bags slowly onto the ground and backed away similarly to how Skye dropped the gun. The taller of the three walked over and picked up the bags to bring back towards the other two. Bailey watched as the contents of their backpacks were taken out and examined until the leader of the trio nodded.

“Alright, they’re good.”

Tension eased up as Bailey and Casey were handed back their bags. Bailey looked over to Skye and Jasper, who hadn’t moved to follow as the tall girl motioned for them to come in.

“Are you sure we can’t get you to reconsider letting Jasper in?” Bailey asked.

“Who’s Jasper?”

“The dog, Ajay,” the taller woman stated as she gestured over to the white fluff. “I’m assuming.”

“Yeah, that’s Jasper. We promise he’s not dangerous. He’s very well-behaved.”

The young man, Ajay, looked over at the dog for a few moments.

“He’s an animal, you can’t promise he won’t bite,” Ajay reasoned after a moment of thought, “Erin can show you towards the infirmary for that.”

Ajay gestured to the cut on Casey’s arm. The taller girl, Erin, smiled and raised her arm and waved the trio inside. Casey started over first, clearly still in pain, as Bailey took a few steps forward before noticing Skye hadn’t moved.

“Skye?”

“Go ahead, I’ll set up camp out here.”

That seemed to get the attention of Erin, who turned from helping Casey to the two still outside the school. Bailey couldn’t say she was surprised, she hadn’t seen Skye and Jasper more then ten feet apart since they started traveling together. Bailey tried to think of something to convince Skye to come inside when Erin moved towards Ajay.

“What if we kept the dog in one of the classrooms?” Erin asked softly so the two younger teens wouldn’t hear.

“Erin, we can’t have the dog there with Mohit.”

“We can’t leave her out there all night.”

Ajay sighed and looked over at the two.

“Glad to see you’re still mom-friending everyone.”

“Some things don’t change,” Erin smiled, “Come on, Ajay, we need manpower if we want to get this place in any kind of running order.”

Ajay thought for another moment, glancing over at the small redhead and the giant white fluff ball that waited patiently at her legs.

“Okay, the dog can stay if he stays locked up in a classroom. And keep him on a leash when he’s out.”

Bailey smiled as Skye gave a nod at Ajay’s newest statement. Skye pulled an old leash from her backpack and clipped it to Jasper’s collar before they started towards the school entryway. The Latina girl closed the doors behind them. Erin and Casey started down a different hallway towards what Bailey assumed was the nurse’s office. Ajay led them over to one of the classrooms.

“Here’s where the dog will stay.”

The classroom looked like it had been searched. It was fairly cleaned out besides a few desks that were still intact. Skye led Jasper into the room and promptly dropped her backpack on one of the desks.

“Danielle can show you towards the nurse’s office if you want to meet up with your brother,” Ajay offered Bailey as he motioned to the Latina behind them, “Dinner is in about an hour.”

Ajay turns and walks away leaving Bailey and Danielle standing in the hallway.

“You need me to show you were the nurse’s office is, or...?”

Bailey looked over at Skye unpacking some of Jasper’s things into the room. She leaned forward and rested her backpack by the doorway before flashing the redhead a conflicted look for a minute before turning back to Danielle.

“Yeah.”

Danielle gave a nod and started leading Bailey down the hall. Bailey tried to ignore how uncomfortably silent it was as they walked. The school hallways seemed twice as eerie as Bailey thought they’d be. Several lockers were busted into or completely broken. A few stray windows were broken or light fixtures were hanging from the ceiling at strange angles.

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to be friends with Rory Silva would you?” Danielle asked after a long stretch of silence.

“Rory? Are they here?” Bailey asked as Danielle gave a grim shake of her head. “Oh, well yeah we knew each other. We used to live next door to each other.”

“I thought you looked familiar. Rory and I used to hang out. I remember seeing you in your backyard playing while I was over.”

Bailey let out a slight hum as they fell back into silence.

“I hope Rory’s okay, wherever they are.”

Danielle nodded in agreement as they turned the corner. She stopped at one of the doorways and waved her arm, gesturing inside. Bailey hesitated a moment before walking in, noticing the remains of the nurse’s office. Casey sat on one of the beds with a new bandage on his arm, chatting a bit with Erin while another woman shifted through medical supplies on the counter.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” Erin said when she noticed Bailey in the doorway. “I’m Erin, and that’s Grace. She’s our resident EMT.”

“Bailey,” Bailey smiled back as she looked over at her brother. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“How did you manage to hurt your arm like that?” Grace asked Casey as she turned back to the small cluster of people. “It’s on the deep side, so we’ll have to watch for infection.”

“We had an issue with a herd on our way here. We were camping out in a news van while Skye worked on increasing our radio’s signal. We woke up surrounded by walkers.”

“I freaked out,” Casey admitted. “I tried to drive the van out of the herd and ended up crashing it.”

“You’re lucky then, all things considering.”

Erin nodded, agreeing with Grace’s statement. Casey looked towards the floor, obviously aware that his previous actions were reckless. 

“I should go start with dinner,” Erin excused herself from the group, “It’s my turn and we’ve gone some new faces to feed. Bailey, why don’t you come help me.”

“Oh, sure!”

***

Skye unpacked Jasper’s bowls and cans of dog food while the dog pranced around her happily. His tongue dangled from his mouth as he moved in circles around Skye. She put his water dish down and opened a bottle of water.

“I know, you’re thirsty,” Skye chuckled as she poured the water in the bowl. “What do you think, boy?”

Jasper looked up at her for a moment, water dripping from his jaw. He leaned forward and licked her hand before going back to his water.

“It is nice to be inside again. We don’t have to worry about a leaky tent or roof anymore.”

Jasper walked over and sat next to her, he tilted his head as if listening to Skye as she spoke. Skye shook her head, reaching into her bag and pulling out a worn tennis ball. Jasper’s eyes lit up and he jumped to his feet. Skye gave it a weak toss across the room, watching as Jasper hobbled over to get it before bringing it back to her.

He was walking better on his leg. Skye was relieved. She didn’t know what she would do if anything happened to him.

They played fetch for a few moments before Skye heard someone run down the hall. She brushed it off and continued playing with Jasper. After a few minutes, Skye heard the rushing footsteps resume. She put the ball down on the floor and listened. There were rushed footsteps and opening and closing doors.

Jasper positioned himself between Skye and the door when the footsteps stopped. The door swung open to reveal a small boy.

“Ajay?” the boy asked. He seemed to be around grade school age. He looked up at Skye with wide eyes, paralyzed for a moment before his eyes traveled to the white animal. 

“Is your dog friendly?” The boy was completely transfixed on Jasper, tilted his head at the child. “Can I pet him?”

Skye slowly moved to her feet as she boy looked up at her. 

“I don’t know.”

Jasper wouldn’t bite unless Skye told him to, but she didn’t know this boy and she wasn’t going to have some brat hurt her dog. The boy looked disappointed.

“Okay. Do you know here Ajay is?” 

“Sorry, I don’t.”

“Want to play dice with me?”

“No? Sorry, I don’t know how to play.” 

“I can show you how to play!” The boy suddenly smiled and went to sit on one of the desks setting an old cardboard box on the table. “I’m Mohit! Are you and the dog staying with us now?”

“Uh, yeah. Look, how about I help you find Ajay?” Skye offered, trying to get out of playing with the hyperactive gremlin. “I’m sure he wants to play with you too.”

“Okay!”

Skye let out a sigh as Jasper tilted her head at her.

“Stay, boy.” 

Jasper trotted over to the tattered blanket Skye had for him and laid down to take a nap. Skye hesitated a bit, unused to not having her furry companion next to her and unsure if he would really be safe without her with him.

“Let’s go look in the cafeteria!”

Mohit grabbed onto the end of Skye’s sleeve as he started out of the room and down the hall. Skye sighed before pushing the door closed, being dragged down the hall by the very chatty gremlin.

***

The kitchen off the cafeteria was in pretty good shape. Despite not having power, it was surprisingly free of damage. Erin moved around the kitchen, setting up a pot on an old camping stove before she looked through their choices of canned food.

“Have you guys been on your own long?” she asked the younger girl.

“Casey and I jumped from group to group for a while,” Bailey explained as she brought over one of the medium sized pots. “We’ve been on our own since we got to Oregon.”

“What about your friend with the dog?”

“Skye? We ran into her when we got closer to Cedar Cove. I convinced her to come with us.”

Erin hums as she sets the pot on the small camping stove and lit the flame. She set a few cans on the counter next to them.

“It’s kinda funny being here,” Bailey murmured, “before the outbreak Casey and I were getting ready to start high school. Now we’re here, but not the way we thought.”

“I had just finished my sophomore year,” Erin added. “I think I know the feeling. One minute I’m reading through the back to school ads and the next I’m trying to evacuate with everyone else in Cedar Cove.”

“Did you evacuate?”

“No, I ended up getting stuck here with a few other students. We got separated from our parents when the infected starting spreading.”

Erin opened two of the cans and dumped the contents into the pot as it slowly warmed.

“We’re having chili, I guess, canned meat and beans.” Erin smiled as Bailey chuckled. “I’m sure it’ll taste close enough to cafeteria food.”

“If it’s warm and edible, I’ll be happy.”

The two fell into a comfortable silence as Bailey retrieved old plates from one of the drawers.

“How many?”

“Nine of us, I think. And we have the dog.”

“Jasper. Skye has food for him. At least for a few days.”

“Gotcha.”

Bailey moved through the kitchen to the main dining area of the cafeteria. She picked one of the tables and set the dishes down before going back for utensils. Her mind wandered back to the days she’d help her parents at the diner. Evenings of bussing tables, cleaning dishes, and taking orders filled her mind as she tried to remember how her parents laughs sounded in the background when her and Casey would compete to see who could finish cleaning at the end of the night first.

“Erin, have you seen Ajay?”

A young voice called over as Bailey looked up to see a young boy with a strong resemblance to Ajay walk over dragging Skye by the sleeve.

“Hi Mohit, he’s not here but dinner is almost ready. Why don’t you go tell everyone else?”

“OK! Come on!”

Skye flashed Bailey a panicked look as she was dragged away again by the small boy. Bailey tried not to giggle as she placed glasses on the table.

“Mohit likes her,” Erin smiled. “She doesn’t look too crazy about him.”

“Skye’s not really into the touching thing.”

“Oh! Well I can go get Mohit if he’s bothering her?”

“I can go, I’ll send her this way,” Bailey offered as she walked out the door to follow the two. She catches sight of Skye’s red hair turning the corner and jogged to catch up, “Hey!”

Mohit and Skye stop as Bailey turned the corner.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mohit! Do you mind if I go with you to collect everyone? Erin needs Skye.”

“Skye?” 

“Skye,” Bailey gestures to the redhead as Mohit looks up at her, “Do you mind Skye?”

“Nope.”

Mohit let her sleeve go and Skye scurried down the hall away from them. Bailey chuckled as Mohit led her down the hall.

“I like Skye,” Mohit said absentmindedly. “She gave me a cool nickname!”

“Oh,” Bailey said cautiously, “what is it?”

“I’m The Gremlin,” Mohit cheered as if it were a superhero name, “cool huh?”

“Very cool.”

Mohit chatted animatedly with Bailey as they did a lap around the school gathering the stray survivors. Once they get back, Bailey was greeted with the sight of a large pot of chili and several friendly faces around the table. The group settled into plastic chairs around one of the longer tables. Bailey, Casey, and Skye sat rather awkwardly at the end of the table while the others talked amongst themselves. Grace and Ajay were talking about something that was leaving big grins on both of their faces while Danielle teased Natalie at the other end of the table. The warm meal tasted twice as good as anything Bailey had eaten in years. She and Casey scarfed down their food at an alarming rate, almost as if they were terrified of it being taken from them. 

“It’s amazing that you can do that and not choke,” Skye joked from the other side of the table. “I’d say even Jasper doesn’t eat that fast.”

“Speak for yourself,” Casey said as he gestured to Skye’s almost empty dish. “You’re just not as loud eating.”

Erin chuckled from her seat close to the trio.

“I think it’s nice that you're excited about my canned chili.”

“I’m glad I brought my camping stove,” Trevor laughed. “Nothing beats a reasonably hot meal.”

“Since we have new people,” Natalie fished the deck of cards out of her pocket, “how about an ice-breaker?”

“Awesome! I’ve got just the thing to make it more interesting too.”

Trevor jumped up and ran out of the room. The group watched him leave before Natalie turned to explain the game to the newcomers. She shuffled the deck as she spoke. After a few minutes, Trevor came barreling back into the room with two mason jars in his hands.

“What’s that?” Ajay narrowed his eyebrows at the jars as Trevor placed them on the table. He took one and removed the lid.

“It’s a drinking game right? We can’t have a drinking game without a little something to drink.”

“No, absolutely not.”

“Come on Ajay, it’s not like there are people to bust us anymore. You only have to drink if you don’t want to answer a question. How drunk could we get?”

“Mohit, why don’t you go over there and draw?” Ajay said firmly.

Mohit threw a disappointed look at his brother, angry at the idea that he wouldn’t be able to join the game. 

“Come on Mohit, I’ll draw with you,” Grace offered. Ajay threw her a grateful look as she took the small boy over to a table a few feet away.

“No one gets drunk,” Ajay repeated as Trevor poured a shot of liquid into each person’s cup. “What is that?”

“Moonshine, it’s the only thing I could make with what I had.”

“Fantastic,” Ajay rubbed the bridge of his nose, “No one drinks more than three shots… Maybe two.”

He looked over at Skye and then towards Natalie as he said this. They were arguably the smallest there, and more likely to feel the effects of alcohol then anyone else. 

“Deal the cards out.” Trevor sat back down in his seat. “Can’t worry about people getting drunk if there is no one’s drinking yet.”

Natalie glanced over at Ajay for a moment before dealing out the cards.

“One, two, three!”

Danielle ended up with the highest card. It took the group a moment to look at everyone’s cards to see who was highest.

“Alright, let’s see,” Danielle thinks for a moment, “How old is everyone? Mostly talking to you three, because I know how old everyone else is”

Ajay is relieved at the easy question. If they kept the game easy, they wouldn’t have to worry about much drinking.

“Seventeen,” Bailey answers. “Casey and I are twins.”

“Huh. You two do look alike,” Natalie mused from her seat, “Skye?”

“Seventeen.”

They were all actual kids, Ajay realized, not even legal adults. That effectively made them the youngest of the group.

The cards were dealt out again. This time, Ajay held the highest card.

“What did you do before coming here?” he asked.

“I traveled the coast,” Trevor started first, “set up camp in some fancy hotels before larger survivor groups kicked me out. I eventually came back down towards Cedar Cove and set up by the pier.”

“Casey and I traveled a bit with different groups,” Bailey started, “We ended up going down to Mexico and staying there for a while, then made our way back up north.”

“What was Mexico like?”

“Here but hotter,” Casey said, “We heard the colder temperatures can make the infected move slower. We also promised our parents we’d come back here. They thought we’d be safe here.”

The group started to turn to Skye, but she’s already handing her empty cup to Trevor. Ajay’s eyes went wide when we realized she took the shot, opting not to answer.

“What? That was a touchy question for you?” Trevor asked as he took the glass and poured another shot. A few startled eyes glance around. Ajay turned back to Grace, silently asking if the younger redhead really took the shot. Grace looked back wide-eyed with a slow nod.

They didn’t need the newer members of their group getting sick on the first night. Ajay looked over to see the redhead unfazed by the first drink, for now at least.

The cards are dealt again. This time, Erin won.

“What does everyone miss most from before the outbreak?”

“Pizza.”

“Seconded.”

“Pancakes,” Casey offered with passion. “I really miss pancakes!”   
“Music,”

“Yes!”

The group erupts in with various things, mostly food. A bit of the tension left the air and Ajay felt himself relax a bit at the more light hearted question. 

The next round Trevor won.

“Has anyone ever killed anyone that was still alive? Like, non-zombified.”

The entire room went silent.

“What the hell Trevor?” Danielle hissed from the other side of the table.

“What? It’s an honest question. You all want to be able to trust these three right? So they should be honest with us about who they are.”

Ajay frowned, and took his shot without hesitation.

“We all have to answer, Trevor. Or refuse to. We’re not interrogating them.”

Danielle nodded and took her own shot. 

“I haven’t,” Natalie murmured quietly, “I haven’t killed any infected either. I’m not really… good at it.”

“I haven’t either,” Erin added quietly as the attention of the table slowly shifted to the three newest people.

Skye hesitated just a moment before taking the shot. Casey and Bailey were clenching their glasses and it’s clear they’re undecided.

“Casey hasn’t,” Bailey started in a low voice, “I have.”

There’s silence. Trevor made some sort of noise before turning to Ajay.

“See, we let a murderer in.”

“It’s not like that,” Bailey tried to defend herself, “He was already bitten. He asked me to end it because he didn’t want to turn.”

“So you just did it?”

“Horatio was my friend! He looked after Casey and I after our parents died and stayed with us after Mark was killed. I didn’t want to kill him!”

“Trevor, that’s enough.” Ajay stood up. “You’re going too far.”

“Hey, I’m trying to protect us just like you are, you really want some killer in the same building as your little brother?”

Bailey felt her heart pounding in her ears. She felt a sudden panic at the idea of her and her brother being kicked out. Where would they go now? They spent years coming to terms with their parents deaths and journeying back to Cedar Cove. This was their home. Trevor turned back to her with a scowl.

“We can’t trust that she won’t kill anyone here.”

“Please,” Bailey begged, feeling her eyes water. “We meant it when we said we didn’t mean any harm. Casey still needs medical attention.”

“Why don’t you just kill him if you’re worried about him turning?”

“I have,”

Everyone went quiet as Skye spoke up.

“I’ve killed people who weren’t infected.”

Bailey looked over at Skye, thankful for the attention being pulled away from her but surprised at the answer.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Trevor just sounded appalled.

"You want an honest answer?"

“Ajay, you heard her, didn’t you? She killed people! There’s no way you’re letting her stay here!”

"What the hell is wrong with  _ you? _ !"

Casey slammed his hands on the table, getting everyone's attention.

"Did you not notice everyone who refused to answer? Bailey and Skye are trying to be honest with you and you're being a dick about it".”

Trevor opened his mouth to retort, but didn’t get a chance before Casey was on his feet, leaning over the table.

“You should consider yourself lucky to not have to resort to that, not criticize people who might not have had a choice.”

“I think that’s enough,” Ajay cut in. “Everyone, go back to your rooms, we can deal with this in the morning.”

“But Aja-”

“Trevor, I’m serious. Everyone go cool off.”

Erin and Natalie moved stiffly. Erin took a few of the dishes off the table as she went, attempting to clean up the mess. Bailey watched as Skye stood up and moved briskly towards the exit. Unfortunately, that meant walking right past Trevor on her way.

“Hey, this isn’t over.”

Bailey felt like what happened next started in slow motion. Trevor reached forward, his hand roughly clasping around Skye’s shoulder from behind her. In a swift movement Skye threw her elbow back with all her weight thrown into it, connecting squarely with Trevor’s lower abdomen. Trevor fell backwards landing on the floor with a loud thud.

Everyone froze as Trevor cursed from his spot on the ground. Bailey rose first, only because she caught the look of complete horror on Skye’s face. The redhead was just as frozen as everyone else, but Bailey could clearly see the panic on her face.

“Are you okay?” Bailey asked quietly as she drew closer. She reached out for Skye’s wrist only for the smaller girl to flinch away from her. “Skye?”

"Trevor, this is the last time I'm going to ask you to leave them alone," Ajay rose from his seat, looking angrier at the outburst, "they just got here, they handed over their weapons without a fight, and frankly I don't appreciate all this with Mohit sitting right there."

Ajay turned to Skye and for a second Bailey thought Ajay was going to berate her for attacking Trevor. Ajay's face softened a bit at the panic and fear very present on Skye's face. She was visibly trying to stop herself from shaking and kept her eyes downward.

"Go to bed, both of you. I want to have a meeting tomorrow to lay out some ground rules."

The group didn't hesitate to start moving, a few people grabbing their dishes to help Erin clean up. Bailey noticed Skye swiftly exit the cafeteria. She hesitated a second, wondering if she should go after her or if it was better to leave her alone.

"Take this to her," Erin handed her a bottle of water, "just in case the alcohol hits her later."

Bailey took the bottle with a little nod and ran after Skye, to her surprise the redhead had gotten much further then she thought she would. She ended up back in her room with Jasper by the time Bailey caught up.

"Hey."

Skye looked up from her spot in the corner of the room, Jasper eating out of the old dog dish a few feet away. The white dog looked up momentarily before going back to his bowl of wet dog food. 

“Are you okay?”

Bailey takes a few steps into the room, being careful to give the girl room if she didn’t want Bailey close.

“That depends, what does ‘okay’ feel like?”

Bailey’s expression softened before she moves slowly and carefully towards the girl curled up in the corner of the room. Bailey takes a seat on the floor a few feet away, wanting to be close but not wanting to make the other girl uncomfortable.

“I feel like I should thank you,” Bailey started, slightly unnerved by the long silence, “and I’m sorry Trevor yelled at you for it. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I don’t know why I did,” Skye grumbed, a very slight slur in her speech, “You looked really upset, I wanted to help.”

“But, is it true? Wait no, you don’t have to answer-”

“It’s true,” Skye leaned back a little turning her head to look at the other girl, “before I met you I used to be with a group who were more… aggressive in their quest for survival. They’d do anything in their power to get what they needed or wanted. It felt like everything always worked in their favor. That the violence worked and we needed to be like that to survive.”

Skye frowned a bit, “I think I’m drunk.”

“You are pretty chatty,” Bailey pointed out, “I’m… not sure if I should stop you?”

Skye shrugged. Thinking for a moment as she watched Jasper eat. The dog enthusiastically licked at it’s dish, walking around in circles around it as if that would uncover more food.

“I don’t understand how you’re so nice.”

“What do you mean?”

“How have you survived for almost three years, having killed someone, and are still able to be a good person?”   
Bailey smiled and shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess because I still want to believe in people.”

Skye stared at the other girl for a while, her dark blue eyes calculating as if she were trying to figure her out. Bailey couldn’t help but notice Skye has shifted a little closer. She can barely make out the light trace of freckles across the bridge of Skye’s nose.

“Do you still believe in me? Do you still think I’m a good person, knowing I’ve killed people?”

The question caught Bailey off guard for a moment, as well as the very somber way Skye asked it.

“I do,” Bailey assured. “Good people can do bad things, but that doesn’t mean they’re not good in the end.”

Skye seemed to be thinking over Bailey’s words. She went silent for a few moments.

“That doesn’t mean good people should get excused for bad things just because they’re good.”

“True, but that doesn’t mean the bad things make them bad?” Bailey countered. “At least, that’s what Horatio used to say. Things are different now. There’s no right or wrong way to survive, so sometimes good people will do bad things because they don’t know how to survive.”

“He sounds like a good person.”

“He was. When Horatio got bit he tried to fight it. He wanted to stay with my brother and I as long as he could. He thought maybe there was a way to survive a bite. But in the end, he started getting really sick. He asked if he could choose how his story would end. He… he asked to be put down gracefully so he wouldn’t come back and become a monster. Casey walked away, he couldn’t do it. I remember how upset he was. Horatio just… smiled in that way that just told you everything would be okay, even though we knew it wasn’t going to be. Casey and I were on our own after that. I don’t think Casey forgave me for weeks.”

“But he forgave you?”

“I think he understood after a while that I didn’t want to do it. But it was what Horatio wanted, he promised he wouldn’t hate us or blame us if we couldn’t do it. But he wanted us to leave him so he wouldn’t bite us next. I felt horrible. I didn’t want him to suffer a slow death like that. So I… did what he asked me to do.”

Bailey let out a breath at the end of her story, trying to fight against the tears that threatened to fall down her face as Horatio’s smiling face flashed through. His usual calm demeanor had been an anchor to the twins during their earlier days of travel. Losing him had felt like losing Mark all over again.

“The first time I killed someone it was an accident, I think. There was this boy, Noah, at the trading post we used to trade between different settlements. He used to help pack rations when I did supply runs. Whenever I was there, he used to tell me all about how I reminded him of his little sister, whom he lost pretty early on. He was strange, clearly a little messed up from everything, but he wasn’t a bad person. At least, I didn’t think so. One day he was missing from the post so I went to collect the rations myself. In the basement I found a walker tied up, so I killed it. Apparently that was the infected version of his little sister and I sent him on a tirade. He attacked me and I-” Skye hesitated, “I killed him. It was a reflex.”

Skye let out a breath.

“It was my fault. If I had left the walker alone, he wouldn’t have attacked me.”

“You didn’t know,” Bailey assured, “And he attacked you, so you were protecting yourself.”

“Was it self defense killing a walker that was tied up?”

“Skye,” Bailey hesitated, knowing there wasn’t much she could offer that would make the redhead stop second guessing her decision. “I know it might feel like there were one hundred other ways it could have happened, and you’re right. There could have been a different ending. But there wasn’t, and it doesn’t make you a bad person. You didn’t go there wanting to kill anyone, did you?”

“No,” Skye’s voice suddenly went quiet. Bailey reached out and rested her hand on top of Skye’s, slightly surprised when the other girl doesn’t flinch away. “I didn’t want to kill anyone. I just-”

Skye shook her head as if suddenly frustrated with herself. 

“I wanted to protect the people I cared about and I thought they cared enough about me to understand that I didn't  _ want _ to kill anyone. I didn't wake up one morning with the  _ desire  _ to kill someone. It just… kept happening. We kept getting into conflicts with other settlements or sent out to clean up walkers. It got to the point where we'd kill each other with the same lack of hesitation that we'd kill walkers-”

Skye catches herself, as if realizing she was rambling.

"Sorry, you don't want to hear all of that."

"But did you want to talk about it?"

Skye shrugged.

"There isn't much to say without getting repetitive." 

"When did you decide to leave?"

"About six months ago. I escaped with another girl and we ended up getting separated. I found Jasper when I got back to Cedar Cove."

"He's really attached to you. I'm surprised, usually stray dogs are pretty mean."

"He was my family's dog before the outbreak. My mom had gotten him originally for my brother, but he lost interest and I ended up taking care of him."

Jasper finished licking his dish clean and moved to sit on Skye’s other side, rolling into a ball on the floor.

"Is your brother still-"

"Alive? Yes."

"He didn't leave with you?"

Skye scoffed.

"My brother said that if he ever saw me again he'd put a bullet in me."

Bailey fell silent and she leaned back against the wall. She watched the girl next to her for a few moments as Skye ran her free hand through Jasper's fur. 

"I'm glad you told me all this," Bailey mused in the darkness, "but if we ever do happen to run into your brother, I'll keep him from shooting you."

The comment is met with a muffled sound from Skye and she turned to redirect her attention to Bailey. Bailey was completely unprepared for a soft smile on Skye's face.

"That's a nice gesture, but I'd rather you didn't get hurt. You're a good person and I don't want to see you killed over me… I think I like you too much to see you get hurt."

Skye blinks as if she hadn't meant to say the last part.

"I'm drunk."

Bailey laughs, fighting off the warmth creeping up her neck as she handed Skye the water bottle Erin offered her.

"Drink this and we can get some sleep. We can deal with tomorrow together."

***

Ajay sat at the desk of the principal’s office, staring down at the scrap piece of paper he had in front of him. Tonight had been a disaster; he’d let things get out of control. That couldn’t happen again. He needed to be a leader, not someone who let people go off and do whatever they wanted. He was close to burning a hole in the paper with his glare when he heard the door crack open. He looked up to see Grace in the doorway.

“Mohit was asking where you were. You said you’d only be a little while.”

Ajay shook his head. 

“I messed up tonight. I shouldn’t have let Trevor go that far with the game.” He leaned forward, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know why I didn’t stop him earlier.”

Grace thought for a minute. The ice-breaker had been messy.

“It could’ve been worse, though.”

Ajay shot her an incredulous look. “How?”

Grace crossed the room, hesitating only a little before she pulled up a chair to the side of the desk and sat down. Ajay noticed that she was very close to him, which was enough to distract him from glaring at the paper. She took the scrap from him, her fingers slightly brushing his, and set it to the side.

“What did that paper ever do to you?”

Ajay sighed. “I’m trying to write out some ground rules. Maybe if we had more organization, less alcohol… I don’t know what I’m doing.”

He looked up at Grace, and she saw the tiredness in his eyes, the stress that lined his face and vibrated through every cell of his body. Swallowing what remained of her insecurities, she took his hand. He startled, but didn’t move to let go.

“You don’t have to be the leader all the time, it’s not healthy. You’re the leader of the group, and you’re basically raising Mohit at this point.”

“I’m just doing what I have to do, Grace. I love Mohit, and I want all of us to have a fighting chance in this mess. But the only thing worse than infighting would be giving up.”

“I didn’t mean that you should give up,” Grace replied, “I just wanted to remind you that you’re human. Not a machine. You can’t just pile stress on constantly and expect that you’re going to be okay.”

Ajay suddenly stood up, letting go of Grace’s hand rapidly.

“What else am I supposed to do?” he asked her, nearly hissing the words. “I can’t let more people die when I can do something to protect them!”

Grace frowned up at him. “You’ve already done so well!” she argued back. “With Mohit, it’s so clear how much he loves you, how much he looks up to you. You’re giving everything you have to this group, and it’s showing in how much we all trust you. Tonight was just a product of tension, nothing more. It’ll blow over, trust me.”

Ajay stared at Grace for several seconds, then his face crumpled. Defeated, he sat back down heavily in the desk chair. A few silent moments later, he looked back over to her.

“I do. I trust you. And I don’t say that about many people, you know.”

“I know,” Grace said carefully, a light blush coloring her cheeks. “I think it goes without saying that I trust you too.”

Ajay nodded. He took in her features as they were thrown into sharp focus under the harsh fluorescent light. Her slim brown eyes, and the warmth that emanated from them. The way her hair fell almost to her shoulders. Her cheeks, which reddened more and more by the second.

“What?” she asked softly.

“I’m sorry,” he said, startled out of his reverie. They didn’t have time for this, not now. “I got distracted. You should rest, lots to do tomorrow.”

Grace pursed her lips, dismayed by the topic change. She stood up, but couldn’t stop herself from pressing a little kiss to the top of Ajay’s head. It was a gesture of affection that she’d wanted to use for weeks now. He looked up at her, a strange look in his eyes that was equal parts confusion and surprise.

“Goodnight, Ajay,” she said, and then left the room, closing the door behind her. Ajay stared at the closed door for a long time before he picked the scrap of paper back up.

***


	5. Rules

_ August 12, 2021 _

_ As I’m writing this, we’re making the final arrangements to get to Berry High tomorrow. Graham and I just finished packing up, and… I guess we’re setting out first thing in the morning. _

_ I know it will be good to have a roof and walls instead of living behind dumpsters and abandoned cars, but I guess I’m just worried about the people Graham thinks he saw in the school. What if they don’t want anything to do with us? And I kind of liked it when it was just him and me. _

_ Regarding that, I guess, there’s nothing new. Except the fact that I make him blush, which was unexpected. Sometimes I’ll see him looking at me. And yesterday, when we were surprised by a walker when we were trying to find a fresh water source, he grabbed my hand. We didn’t really talk about it, but… god, I think I like him. But this isn’t the time. _

_ I’m hoping for the best for the mission tomorrow. And… I guess, I’m hoping Graham might notice the way I’ve been looking at him. _

***

Rory was beyond frustrated at this point. They had spent that last few hours rummaging through the cafeteria and every breakroom they could find. The food supply had gotten dangerously low and they knew they couldn’t support themself and their mother for much longer without leaving the hospital. 

It was a strange thing to think about. The hospital had held an eerie feeling of safety. All the dead were trapped behind doors, there had been food and medicine, they had been safe in some sense from the outside.

Rory ran a hand through their hair as they looked over their findings from their most recent run. A few dented cans of fruit and some stale protein bars from a broken vending machine on the second floor. In their pocket was a bottle of pills; it was the last bottle they could find that wasn’t locked away. 

Another issue Rory had long avoided, the very real possibility of running out of medicine. Their mother had already cut back on her painkiller, they didn’t want to have to force her to cut back more because they couldn’t figure out how to open the door of the metal safe were some of the stronger medications were kept. 

The problems could wait. Rory forced a smile as they walked back into their mother’s room with their less than satisfactory finds. 

“Back already?”

Mrs. Silva returned the smile for a moment. It was a smile that tried to hide the pain that crept through her body. Rory hated seeing their mother like that. It was only a reminder of how little they could do to help her.

“I found some fruit and some protein bars, I thought they could keep us held over until dinner.”

“Sounds lovely.” Mrs. Silva smiled as if the small amount of food was somehow equivalent to a Thanksgiving feast. “I see you found peaches! My favorite.”

“I’m sorry it’s not enough.”

“It’s perfect, you know I don’t eat a lot anyway.”

“You should eat more,” Rory started as they set one of the cans of peaches on the counter and fiddles with an old rusted can opener. “You’ll feel sicker if you don’t eat enough.”

Rory focused their eyes on the bending metal of the can as the opening pulled at the seam. The smell of sugary fruit wafted up as the can opened more and more.

“You need food too, dear,” Mrs. Silva said after a moment of thought. “You’re a growing adult and you need to eat to keep up with this crazy place.”

Rory’s eyes locked onto the can as it creaked open. They held the can in shaking hands for a moment before walking over and sitting on the side of the bed. Mrs. Silva gave them a weak side hug, almost as if she could feel the thoughts racing through Rory’s mind.

***

Casey’s fever was getting worse. At first it was pretty mild, but within a day the fever was bad enough to keep Casey confined to the infirmary while Grace cleaned and changed the bandage on his arm. 

Casey had also started complaining about how much his arm was hurting. Bailey had helped change the bandage once and it was clear the wound was getting more infected. The glass of the van must have been dirtier than it looked. That and the rushed clean and bandage job Bailey had done that night was probably not the best.

Bailey was helping Erin sort through pots and pans in the cafeteria, trying to find usable things. Skye had poked her head in earlier, talking about a supply run she wanted to run by Ajay. Bailey had almost immediately offered to go with her to help find medicine. From what she understood from Grace during her visits to Casey, while they had a few key things they lacked medicine as it wasn’t something that was kept in high supply on an ambulance.

At least there was food and water. A very nice supply was packed in the storage area in the back of the kitchen. That was reassuring.

“I think I’m good with the rest if you want to take a break before your supply run.”

“Are you sure?”

Erin smiled.

“I’m sure, don’t worry about it.”

***

Ajay finalized the list of rules and wrote a few copies to post around the school. As he was writing out the final paper he heard a tapping on the door.

“Come in,” Ajay called out, thinking it was Grace or Mohit looking for him. After a moment of silence he looked up, surprised when he saw Skye standing in the doorway instead. “Something wrong?”

Out of the newer members of their group, Skye seemed the slowest to trust anyone else at the base. She stuck by Bailey most of the time, which Ajay considered a good thing since Trevor was still going hard over what happened during the game. The petite redhead hesitates a bit by the door.

“I looked at the panel,” Skye offered in a monotone voice. “It looks like the school started converting to a solar powered system before the outbreak. There is one panel that’s already converted to solar, we just need to install panels and finish the install.”

Ajay nodded. He had asked Skye, after finding out from Casey that she was tech savvy, and Trevor to investigate the electric and plumbing to see if it was possible to get something going in the school. The power would be helpful for Grace in the infirmary. A source of running water also had its advantages. It was nice that they at least had one source of power that could be converted to solar, however there was a nagging question.

“Did the school order the solar panels?”

“No, there are none in storage, it looks like they just did the setup for them. That’s why I came to talk to you. I need to make a run to Rowling’s Court for the rest of the supplies to set up solar.”

“Rowling’s Court?”

“There are a lot of higher-class houses that installed solar a few years before the outbreak. I think even the hospital started converting once that news story came out about how Cedar Cove was a hot spot for solar energy.”

Ajay thought for a minute.

“Rowling’s Court is across town, how are you going to transport solar panels from there to here?”

“I have Jasper-”

“We have an ambulance,” Ajay interjected, “If we could get that running we can do a more effective supply run to Rowling’s Court. Let me work on it and then we can get a team together.”

It was subtle, but Ajay was more than insistent that no one went on supply runs by themselves. Skye gave a bit of a nod and stood awkwardly at the door. Ajay waited for a few moments as Skye broke eye contact for a few moments.

“I’m sorry… for attacking Trevor earlier.”

It was quiet, like Skye was afraid the statement would start a fight. Ajay admitted to himself that he’d dropped the incident in favor of enforcing new rules at the school. He wanted to let it go, he understood the stress of coming to a new place surrounded by people that you had never met before. He had figured the attack was more about stress and alcohol than a marker of Skye’s character.

Besides that, Skye had been a particularly hard worker. She did anything Ajay, Erin or Grace asked of her. She had even volunteered to go down into the basement to look over the electrical boxes.

“It’s fine,” Ajay assures gently, breaking into the familiar big-brother tone he’d used with Mohit for years, “but I think Trevor would need to hear it more than me.”

“I tried,” Skye admitted, “he won’t talk to me.”

“I haven’t really seen Trevor since before the outbreak, so I can’t speak for the person he is now, but the person I remember usually took time to get over things like this.” 

Skye gave a brief nod before Ajay stood up and gathered the pile of papers with the new rules laid out on them.

“Let me talk to Grace to see what else we might need for a supply run, then we can talk more about Rowling’s Court.”

***

_ She knew there weren’t more than ten miles left in her tank, so when she saw the sign for some place called “Cedar Cove” in just five, she made the executive decision to navigate the large ambulance around the abandoned cars that choked the highway. _

_ The next twenty minutes was slow going, weaving around potholes and bodies. She barely reacted to the sight of the latter, so used to it from the aftermath of raids and riots around Portland, even within the relatively safe walls of Legacy Emanuel Medical Center… _

_ Grace had snuck out of the hospital in the early morning, knowing the woman in charge of watch in the area overlooking the ambulance bay. Laura, her name was, Grace’s old EMT instructor and family friend since childhood. She knew all too well why Grace had to leave, but refused to go with her. Why? She was older, and didn’t want to weigh Grace down or put her in danger. Because of that statement, Grace had spent the first hour of her drive barely able to see what was in front of her because of the tears that flooded her eyes.  _

_ Laura had essentially raised her, doing all the things Grace’s own mother and father wouldn’t do. They hadn’t wanted a child, but then Grace had happened anyway. Grace lived well, never had to worry about food or shelter, but suffered from a lack of love. That was where Laura had come in. _

_ Throughout the past two and a half years, she had been Grace’s rock, her guardian, and her survival partner. They were a team, and Grace knew she owed her life to Laura. Her absence made everything seem unreal, insurmountable. For the first time in a long time, Grace was truly alone. _

_ So she drove and drove and drove until her empty tank indicator blinked and she looked up to see the highway sign, because it seemed like fate. On first glance, Cedar Cove didn’t seem like much. A little town, much quieter than Portland, but nowadays looking the exact same amount of dead as the city she’d left. _

_ Grace figured every place was probably like that. She gingerly turned onto the main road, steering clear of the potholes that had surely existed before the outbreak, and had cracked the asphalt open in the years since. _

_ The ambulance finally came to a rest a few meters from an older school building. Throughout her childhood, school had been her refuge, so it seemed to be a logical next step.  _

_ The closer she crept to the school, one hand running along the wall, the more worried she became. It seemed too quiet in there, like there were no walkers. She had anticipated having to kill a few to win refuge in the building. She slowed down, the fire axe in her right hand at the ready, but when she rounded the corner she found herself staring down the barrel of a shotgun. _

_ “Drop the axe,” the man holding the gun demanded. Grace immediately dropped the axe and held her hands up. “Who are you?” he demanded. _

_ “Grace,” she said. “What about you?” _

_ “Ajay,” the man said, straightening up but not lowering. “Why are you here?” _

_ “I’m from Portland,” Grace explained. “I was holed up at a hospital, but when the supplies ran low, well…” _

_ “And you just walked here? From Portland?” _

_ “Oh, no, I drove,” Grace said, gesturing to the ambulance parked clumsily around the corner. Ajay eyed it suspiciously, but seemed satisfied with her explanation. He lowered the gun. _

_ “Why’d you come here specifically?” he asked. _

_ “I was low on gas, I saw the turnoff for Cedar Cove. This is the first building off the highway, so I’m here.” _

_ “And what do you want?” _

_ “Just a place to stay. I won’t bother you, I promise. I just need shelter.” _

_ Ajay’s eyes narrowed, and he looked at her for a long time. _

_ “You said you came here in an ambulance?” _

_ Grace nodded. _

_ “Does it have any supplies?” _

_ Grace started to smile. “Yes, a lot of supplies.” _

_ Ajay looked at her for another moment, clearly thinking hard. _

_ “We have food,” he finally said. “And I think we’ll be stronger if we work with you. You don’t seem dangerous, but you won’t get any second chances. You’re free to stay here if you’d like, just bring those supplies in.” _

_ “We?” Grace asked, looking behind Ajay to try and spot the other person he was with. _

_ “My little brother’s here with me,” Ajay clarified. “And if you hurt him, I’ll kill you without hesitation.” _

***

Casey had just gotten back to sleep, and Grace turned to wash her hands off in the adjacent room when Ajay knocked on the door and let himself in.

“We need the ambulance,” he said without preamble.

Grace looked up at the man in front of her, his relaxed attitude so much different than the hostility she’d been greeted with so many months ago, and raised an eyebrow.

“You want to drive the ambulance?”

“I want  _ you _ to drive the ambulance,” Ajay corrected her, “with a team, probably me, Bailey, Danielle and Skye. Skye thinks there are solar panels in this rich neighborhood on the other side of town. We were also thinking of going to the hospital to expand your medical supplies, and they might have panels too.”

“Why do you want me to come? I should be taking care of Casey, and anybody can drive the ambulance. Erin would probably be more helpful.”

Ajay looked towards the ceiling, as if the words he wanted to say were written up there. Grace narrowed her eyes.

“Is this about last night? Because I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking, I-”

“No, it’s not about that,” Ajay said, cutting her off. “There’s probably going to be walkers there, and… and goddammit, Grace, it could be dangerous and I want you there with me.”

Grace tried to mask the surprise on her face at his words, but ended up failing miserably. Ajay turned a little red, but didn’t say anything. After many moments of awkward silence, Grace nodded.

“I’ll go. When?”

“I want to leave as soon as we can, so we can get things done and get back before the sun sets.”

Grace nodded again. “I’ll have Natalie keep watch over Casey, then. Give me a few minutes to leave her instructions, and then I’ll meet you guys by the front doors.”

“Okay,” Ajay said as he turned to leave the classroom. He paused in the doorway and turned back to look at her. The intensity in his gaze nearly took her breath away.

“Thanks, Grace,” he said, then turned and left the room. As soon as he left, Grace buried her face in her hands, trying to calm the blush that covered her cheeks.

Her feelings for him—the ones she’d kept hidden away for months now—had started to spill over, like the kiss she’d impulsively pressed to his head the night before. She wanted to curse herself for doing that, for letting her stupid crush show through, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to.

Not when he smiled at her like that. Not when he gave her that look, not when he told her that he wanted her by his side. After all the months working together at the school, she knew they had a deep and solid friendship. She was grateful for it, but she’d never thought it could be more.

Grace recalled one incident in particular, not long after she’d started to develop a soft spot in her heart for him. They had been up late talking, a common thing as both frequently spent nights unable to sleep, staring at the ceiling. In an impulsive moment, she’d asked him if he’d ever dated anyone.

She remembered clearly the unconcerned look on his face as he’d swished the water around his cup, clearly thinking about how much to tell her. He must’ve been in a talkative mood that night.

_ “I had a few relationships,” he’d said slowly, “But nothing serious. And there isn’t time for anything like that now, obviously.” _

_ “There isn’t?” _

_ He narrowed his eyes at her. _

_ “No. Not with Mohit needing me, and not with the hell we’re living in. I can’t afford to lose focus, especially not where it can cost Mohit’s life. I can’t worry about anyone else, just me and him.” _

_ “When I was up in the hospital in Portland,” Grace continued, “There were a lot of relationships. A lot of people who just needed a partner to face the world with, you know? But when they broke up… It tore the group apart. That’s part of why I ended up leaving.” _

_ “It doesn’t surprise me,” Ajay replied. “There’s no room for relationships like that in groups. It destroyed a play I was directing, and it would be worse if feelings got involved in this whole surviving mess.” _

_ “Yeah, I guess. I liked the idea, though. Not having to face the future completely alone.” _

_ “It’s a nice thought,” he admitted, a soft smile on his face. Grace’s heart pounded. “But the logistics don’t work out. There’s… there’s no room for that in this world, not anymore.” _

The conversation had ended there, but Ajay’s words had stuck with Grace.  _ There’s no room for that in this world. Not anymore _ . 

As she looked at the door of the nurse’s office, she silently wondered if he still thought that.

***

“Why doesn’t it surprise me that you know how to steal gas?” 

Danielle sighed as Trevor filled the tank of the ambulance. The other teen had been less excited about Ajay’s plan to do a supply run to Rowling’s Court. Danielle on the other hand wasn’t missing a chance to take out a few walkers. 

“Survival of the fittest,” Trevor turned and grinned as he emptied the small canister into the ambulance. “What else would I make fires with?”

How this kid hadn’t burned his own eyebrows off was a mystery. Ajay stepped out the door as Trevor capped the canister and went to move it back to his little workshop he had put together inside one of the science classrooms.

“Are we good to go?”

Trevor nodded.

“She’ll get you to Rowling’s and back, no issues.”

“Perfect.” Ajay turned to the group as they formed by the side entrance of the school, “Let’s get moving, I want to be there and back before nightfall.”

Mohit poked his head out the door. Ajay caught him and motioned for everyone else to load the car up and get settled as he walked over and ushered him back into the school.

“Are you sure I can’t come?”

“Sorry, but if you come who will watch over everything while I’m gone?”

Mohit thought for a moment and looked down at the floor with a disappointed look. He always got a little scared when Ajay left. Ajay knew it was because of everything that had happened with their parents, so he made sure Mohit had a job to do at the school while he was away. Something to take his mind off of things.

“I need you to be a leader while I’m gone,” Ajay started as he kneeled to Mohit’s level with a smile, “we have a lot of new rules and you need to help make sure everyone follows them. Do you remember the rules?”

“Rule 1: no guns or weapons in common areas. All guns have to be locked up, axes need to be in cases, knives can stay on people if they are used for work. Like supply runners or what Trevor and Skye do-”

“Engineers,” Ajay corrected with a smile, “what’s rule 2?”

“No alcohol unless it’s in the infirmary,” Mohit announced proudly, “Rule 3 is no bad words. Rule 4 is...is…”

“Always check the windows, make sure they are secure before raiding a room.”

“Right!” Mohit smiles and looks up, “Rule 5 is about fires right? All fires have to be in the courtyard, no inside fires. Rule 6 is that everyone has to take a turn during security patrols. And-And! Rule 7 is that no one goes on supply runs alone, we go in even numbers so everyone has a partner. Jasper counts!”

Ajay chuckled, “Skye told you that?”

“Yup!”

“Don’t forget the last rule,” Ajay leaned in closer as if it was a secret, “If something happens what do you do?”

“Hide,”

“Good,” Ajay smiled and ruffled Mohit’s hair, “I’ll see you later,  _ bhai, _ ”

Ajay and Grace got settled into the front of the ambulance while Skye, Bailey, Danielle and Jasper piled into the back. The back had been cleaned out of all the equipment, giving it plenty of room for them to stash whatever they could find during their run there. 

Grace took a breath before turning the key in the ignition, the boxy truck springing to life with a dull roar. She gently pressed the gas pedal and turned the ambulance to exit the school parking lot.

“There are a lot of walkers near the mall, we should take the back roads.” 

The trip there was mostly quiet with Ajay speaking up to advise which roads to take as they drove through the town. Danielle occupied herself with her rifle while Bailey and Skye sat next to each other in a comfortable silence. It had been something Bailey had grown accustomed to since their heart to heart the first night. Skye was quiet company when the two were with the other members of the group. There was something calming about her presence that made Bailey feel a little more at ease.

Bailey turned her head slightly to the girl next to her. Skye stared off into the distance, absentmindedly running her hand through Jasper’s fur as the happy dog’s tail thumped against the metal floor of the ambulance. The dog seemed overjoyed to be in a moving vehicle. Bailey could imagine him with his head poking out of a window, tongue lolling in the wind.

Bailey caught the slight twitch of Skye’s lips turning upward as she watched the happy dog look around the ambulance. Sometimes when they sat this close Bailey could catch the faint trace of freckles that lightly dusted the other girl’s face. Her dark blue eyes lit up just a little as Jasper turned up to her and moved, trying to get Skye to scratch his belly. He rolled over with a thud, his back legs hitting the door.

“I always forget how much bigger the houses get over here,” Ajay grumbled from the front seat. “Park over by that big house on the corner, I think I see panels on the roof there.”

The ambulance slowly came to a stop and Danielle was first to stand and swing the back door open, glancing around for any stray walkers. The street was unusually quiet, a lone walker stalked down the street a few hundred feet away, not taking any interest in the group.

Skye made quick work of the front door of the house, using her climbing axe to force the door open. She looked unsurprised at the poor resistance the expensive decorative door provided as the group quickly moved into the house. The inside wasn’t as tossed as most others, but it was clear people had moved through it, taking everything that was in the kitchen leaving nothing but open cabinets and a tipped over fridge. It was a bit impressive considering it was one of those fancy chef fridges that Bailey remembered her father used to admire on TV shows and magazines.

“What’s the plan for the panels?” 

Ajay turned to Skye as the girl gestured to the stairs.

“Well, first we have to get to the roof. It looked like one of the bedrooms on the third floor should have roof access. We just need to rip out the window and I can disconnect them.”

“Okay, take Danielle and Bailey with you to get the panels. Grace and I will see what else we can salvage from here.”

The group split up to search the house. Bailey followed behind Skye as they climbed the two flights of steps to the third floor of the very large house. 

“I’m surprised there are no walkers.”

“Most of the richer houses evacuated early, so there wouldn’t be anyone here to die and turn,” Danielle offered at Bailey’s statement as she looked around the top floor. “Let's get those panels before we draw unwanted attention from outside.”

Skye only nodded as Bailey followed her down the hall, they stopped at one of the closed doors. Skye hesitated a moment as Bailey drew her knife, just in case there was something beyond the door. After a silent moment between the two Skye slowly pulled the door open.

The room was silent and in fairly good condition. Bailey stepped through, her old boots scuffing the edge of a pink decorative rug as she walked through. There were photos arranged in a collage on one wall, the bed was bare of any sheets and it looked like someone had raided the closet. Danielle walked through briskly, throwing the window open and poking her head out.

“The panels don’t look that big, should be fairly easy to carry a few down the stairs to the ambulance.”

Bailey nodded and turned to Skye only to see the other girl completely frozen in place. Her eyes were glued to the wall of photographs.

After a moment Bailey took a few steps forward and looked over at the wall. The pictures were an assortment of events from school. It looked like whoever used to own this house went to Berry High. There were pictures from cheerleading events, school dances, and general hangouts. Several photos of groups of friends hanging out at the mall and eating lunch at what looked like the inside of the Golden Griddle. Bailey felt herself staring at the picture, she had almost forgotten what the interior of the Golden Griddle looked like. She missed the red seats, the smell of her father’s cooking wafting from the kitchen, and the smell of cleaner as her and Casey spent weekends cleaning menus.

Bailey shook her head, adjusting her glance to catch whatever had caught and held Skye’s attention. Many of the pictures featured a girl with a stunning smile and curly blonde hair with a cute Asian brunette. Maybe Skye knew the girls in the picture?

“Skye?” 

Baileys voice snapped Skye out of her trance. She quickly shook her head and turned to Bailey.

“We need to take the window out so we have room for the panels.”

Bailey doesn’t get to ask anything before Skye moved briskly past her and climbed out the window to the roof. She and Danielle worked to get the window out, preventing it from sliding down the roof and crashing against the pavement below. Jasper made himself comfortable on the bed supervising while the trio eventually get into a rhythm getting the panels disconnected and loaded into the ambulance. Skye worked from the roof unhooking the panels and passed them to Danielle and Bailey, who carried them down the steps and loaded them into the back of the ambulance, careful to prevent cracking or damaging them.

Bailey felt more and more anxious as Skye started to unhook panels farther and farther away from the window. The panels weren’t too large, but they weren’t light. Each one weighed about twenty to thirty pounds. It was anxiety inducing watching Skye walk across the slightly slanted roof with the panels.

Danielle hopped out the window as she saw Skye hesitate to pick up one of the panels. Danielle and Bailey then took turns helping Skye get the panels to the window, and then carrying them out.

After about forty-five minutes that section of roof’s panels were packed carefully into the ambulance. 

“I don’t think we can safely fit more than that.”

Danielle nodded.

“I’ll get Ajay and Grace, you grab Skye and we can move on.”

Bailey went to let Skye know they were ready to leave. She turned to head up the stairs only to crash into the other girl as she turned the corner. 

“Sorry!” 

Skye seemed startled for a second before schooling her features. Jasper had already pushed past the two and headed down the stairs, excited for another ambulance ride. He stopped at the bottom and looked up to wait for the other two.

“It’s fine,” Skye moved past her hastily, catching up with Jasper how immediately starting prancing towards the front doorway, “Come on.”

Bailey followed She glanced down only to see “Welcome To The Warren’s” custom stitched into the welcome mat on her way out.

***

The hospital looked just as creepy as a post-apocalyptic hospital should look. The outside garden was messy and filled with weeds. The bricks were littered with mold and the fountain in the front that was supposed to offer a welcoming appearance was filled with a disgustingly thick gray sludge. A familiar rotting smell oozed from the hospital as several of the dead groaned or banged on the windows, leaving damp handprints on the already dirty glass.

“Well, that looks about right,” Danielle sighed as they parked the ambulance just out of view behind one of the covered parking areas, just in case someone less dead took an interest in it. She started surveying the land for a game plan. “Just as walker-infested as I figured.”

Ajay let out a sigh as he glanced over the front of the building. The front entryway was completely blocked off, so it would be too noisy to get through. The only quiet section of the hospital seemed to be near a broken window at the corner of the building.

“There.” Ajay pointed it out to the group. “That’s our best bet.”

The broken window led to a small empty patient room. Ajay forced the broken window the rest of the way open so they could climb through, turning his head to avoid shards of stray glass as it cracked and broke away from the panels. Danielle offered to hop thorough first to survey the inside. As soon as she gave the signal that the room was clear the rest of the group climbed through.

Ajay climbed through the window last, surveying the land as the echoes of groaning caused Jasper to let out a whine. 

“Alright, we need supplies for the infirmary. We need to figure out where the pharmacy is first to get antibiotics and painkillers. Then we should go see if there are any other things we can take from the post-surgery areas or from the ICU.”

“ICU is on the fourth floor,” Bailey offered after a moment of thought, “and I think pharmacy is on the third.”

“How do you know?” Danielle asked with a bit of suspicion in her voice. 

“I used to come here to visit my friend’s mom. She had breast cancer and had to go through surgery a few times.”

“Alright, we’ll start on the third floor.” Ajay nodded, ending the conversation.

Ajay and Grace moved to the door first, preparing for what might be behind it. After a moment, Ajay yanked the door open, revealing an empty hallway. The group slowly moved out into the hall noticing that all the walkers were closed behind the patient room doors.

“I can’t tell if this is a good thing,” Grace muttered as they took in the sight. “There might be people here.”

Her statement made Ajay frown. It was one thing for people to come to the school seeking refuge, it was another for them to stumble across people while raiding supplies. Whoever was here would probably not be happy about people breaking in and stealing things.

“Let’s move quickly, then. Grace, you and I will look through the pharmacy since you know best what we need in terms of medicine. The rest of you, go up to the fourth floor and see what you can gather from there.”

The group slowly walked down the hall to the stairwell. Grace and Ajay broke off at the third floor while the others walked up to the fourth.

“You guys check out the ICU, I’m going to rummage through some of the rooms.” Danielle said abruptly. She didn’t wait for any kind of answer before walking off. 

Skye and Bailey shared a look before they turned to walk down the hall towards the entrance of the ICU.

“Do you think the locks on the doors still work?” Bailey asked as she examined the rusting double door leading to the ICU. “I think they were electric, so maybe the power outage unlocked them?”

Bailey gave the door a light push, and it moved with a low pitched whine. Bailey glanced into ICU and stopped dead at the sight of the walkers locked in the rooms. The rooms of the ICU were glass, giving her and Skye a full look at the walkers trapped behind the locked and barricaded doors. 

Bailey gagged on the smell alone. The usual dead smell was mixed with the smell of infection. The walkers behind the glass were dripping infectious ooze from any cuts or injuries. Their eyes leaked with black liquid and several of them were spitting a dark colored slime from their mouths.

Skye coughed and pulled Bailey out of the room. The door closed with a lazy metallic creak. Bailey gasped at the less foul-smelling air, hearing Jasper give out a whine as he pressed his head into Skye’s jacket in an attempt to get away from the smell.

“Let’s try something else,” Skye offered as she shook off the smell, “Maybe we can find something by the nurse’s station.”

Bailey nodded and followed Skye as she started down the hall with Jasper hot on her heels. The nurse’s station was back by the stairs. There wasn’t much on the counters besides a few broken computers and files stuffed in drawers. Skye fiddles with some of the tech seeing if anything was salvageable while Bailey looked through one of the supply closets. 

“How did you get into tech?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well,” Bailey turned to look at Skye over her shoulder, “I was just thinking about how I don’t know that much about you. Like I don’t know a lot of little things about you. We seem to only talk about really serious things.”

Skye was silent for a moment, thinking for a second before answering.

“I used to do theatre tech in middle school. I liked being behind the scenes. It was like being a ghost. If I did a good job, no one noticed I was there.”

“That’s a good thing?”

“I don’t really do the ‘getting noticed’ thing.”

Bailey let out a short laugh.

“I used to want to have the confidence to be on stage. I always chickened out on auditions for big roles. I thought high school would be the time to change that… OK light subject, what’s your favorite color?”

“Black”

Bailey let out a little sigh and walked over to where Skye was raiding through the drawers, sitting down on one of the hardly standing desks chairs. Skye looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Favorite animal?”

“I don’t really have one.”

“What about-”

“What about you?” Skye cut her off, “what’s your favorite color, or favorite animal?”

Bailey thought for a minute, her green eyes staying locked with Skye’s for a moment.

“Blue, maybe? I like dogs a lot, my brother and I used to beg our parents for a dog. I used to want a unicorn when I was a kid though.”

Bailey heard a barely restrained noise as it passed through Skye’s lips. She turned away from Bailey, shaking her head.

“I can see that. Are you laughing at me?”

“A little.”

“Really? What did you want when you were five?”

Skye got quiet for a second, appearing to be deep in thought. Bailey watched as Skye seemed to struggle with how she wanted to answer that question.

“For my parents to be proud of me.”

Bailey got silent for a second as Skye closed the drawer and leaned back in her chair. It creaked with her sudden movement.

“My home life wasn’t the best, even before my parents ditched my brother and I at the beginning of the outbreak. When I was five, my mom told me I was a mistake. I forget what she was angry with me about, I forget what I did. I just remember wanting more then anything for them to be proud of me.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to open an old wound.”

Skye snorted. “I don’t know why I let you,” she said as she shook her head and turned to Bailey, “but I… usually feel a little better after talking to you.”

Bailey couldn’t really place the soft look in Skye’s eyes. It only lasted a few seconds before Skye sat up and stood from her chair.

“We should check the supply closets down this hall, it might be a good idea to track Danielle down too.”

“Skye—” Bailey stood up after the girl, taking a few quick strides as Skye turned back to her. “You know, if there’s anything you want to talk about you can always come to me, right? You don’t have to feel bad about dumping things on me. I was serious earlier. I really do want to know more about you.”

Skye seemed surprised for a second before turning away from Bailey, staring down at the tile floor.

“You might not want to know everything-”

Skye was cut off bluntly when Bailey reached out and took her hand gently into her own. The movement made Skye’s head snap back to the girl in front of her, slightly startled by the sudden movement.

“You can’t be that hard on yourself,” Bailey started after a second of thought. “We’ve all had to do horrible things to survive. Those things don’t define you. You’re not going to scare me away.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I don’t give up on people or things I believe in. I told you, I know you’re a good person. Even if you don’t think so... And I’m still going to look for that unicorn, even if it doesn’t exist.”

Skye looked down for a second, and Bailey heard her laugh for a second before she looked back up. Bailey was hit immediately with the smile that lingered on Skye’s face. It still held a sadness that Bailey had seen in Skye’s eyes so many times, but there was some light behind her eyes. Some traces of happiness starting to come out.

“You’re a cheeseball, anyone ever tell you that?”

“I don’t think anyone says that anymore,” Bailey smiled back, “but I’m taking it as a compliment.”

“...Don’t change.”

Bailey held Skye’s gaze as the two smiled at each other for a few moments, the gritty hospital landscape around them seeming a little less real for a few seconds. 

The moment is broken by the sound of the stairwell doors opening, the two break away thinking it was Ajay and Grace coming up to get them. They’re surprised when they are greeted instead by a tall youth with brown hair. They stepped through the doors and stopped dead in their tracks as they looked at Skye and Bailey.

“...Bailey?”

It took Bailey a few moments to recognize the teen, but once she did, her eyes went wide.

“Rory?”

Rory took a few fast paces over to where Bailey stood. Bailey closed that gap, and Rory pulled her into a tight bear hug. 

“I’m so happy to see you!” Rory was almost in tears as the words passed their lips. They backed away for a second before Bailey felt them pull her in close, pressing a kiss to her forehead before pulling away with a tired smile.

“You two know each other?”

Skye’s voice cut through the scene. Rory looked over like they’d just noticed Skye. 

“Rory was the friend I was talking about, their mom was the one I came to visit in the hospital. That’s how I know my way around this place, kinda.”

Skye only nodded, a bit of a concealed emotion flashing across her eyes as she looked at Rory. After a second Bailey heard a throat clearing behind them.

“Danielle! You’re here too?” Rory nearly yelled, looking past Bailey.

“Yeah, I can’t believe you’re here!” Danielle almost tossed Skye and Bailey aside to pull Rory into a hug of her own. She held Rory tight for a few extra seconds.

“I, uh, don’t think we’ve met.” Rory turned to Skye once Danielle released them. “I’m Rory.”

“I got that. Skye.” Jasper barked from Skye’s side. “Jasper.”

“Nice to meet you both.”

“What are you doing here?” Bailey asked.

“I’m here with my mom.”

“Mrs. Silva’s here too?”

“Yup! Come on! She’d love to see you.”

Rory started leading them back towards the stairwell. Danielle quickly followed them, shooting Bailey a slight glare as she moved. Skye looked over at Bailey with a raised eyebrow for a moment before Bailey just shrugged and the two moved to follow Rory and Danielle.

Rory led them up the stairs to the fifth floor.

“I’ve been closing the patients inside the rooms as they turned, so there shouldn’t be any lingering in the hallways.”

“That’s smart, makes it easy to move,” Danielle smiled brightly as she spoke. “This place is nicely locked down.”

“Yeah well, we’re really starting to lack food and water.”

“You guy could always come to the school with us,” Danielle offered, “all the other theatre kids are there. We have the resources.”

“Yeah well,” Rory rubbed the back of their head, “Mom can’t really travel. Without the right medicine, she’s gotten really weak. She can’t leave her bed anymore.”

Rory flashed a sad look before putting on a bright smile. They stepped through the doorway of one of the rooms.

“Hey mom, look who came to visit!”

Bailey was expecting the woman to be in bed waiting for them. What she saw was far worse. Instead of the lively woman she remembered from her childhood, all she saw in bed was a corpse. The vague features looked only slightly familiar as she looked on from her spot in the doorway. 

“She’s really excited to see you,” Rory went on as she walked over to the dead woman’s bedside, “I know, I can’t believe Bailey and Danielle are here either.”

Skye nudged Bailey with her elbow, meeting her eyes with a concerned look of her own. 

“We need to get out of here.”

“We need to talk to Rory,” Danielle interrupted, “they can’t seriously believe-”

“Yes they can,” Skye insisted, “and that can make them dangerous.”

Bailey recalled Skye’s own story about the boy she had been forced to kill. How he reacted when she killed the walker version of his sister. Rory clearly wasn’t right, but their mother didn’t turn so maybe there was a way to talk to them.

“Rory,” Bailey started taking a tentative step forward, “what happened?”

“Well, the cancer was gone for a while, but it came back and we were trapped in the hospital during the outbreak, don’t you remember?”

“No, Rory-”

“Why don’t we go get Ajay and Grace,” Danielle offered, “Ajay might be better at discussing some things then we are.”

“Oh, Ajay’s here too! That’s great! Mom did you hear that?”

Bailey felt the beginning of a cold sweat. She felt Skye grip her sleeve lightly tugging her out of the way as Rory walked over to Danielle.

“I’ll come with you to find them. I’m sure mom would love to catch up with you Bailey.”

“Yeah,”

Danielle shoots her a knowing look before gripping Rory’s wrist and leading them out of the room. Bailey looked over at Skye and then towards the corpse on the bed.

“What do we do?”

***

As Grace carefully picked the lock on the cabinet under the pharmacy counter, she could hear Ajay rattling around, rustling the prescriptions and picking up bottles. Despite his initial hostility at her arrival, the long nights spent in deep conversation and the days spent working side-by-side had turned them into the best of friends. She considered him to be her most steadfast ally, the one person she trusted in the entire world.

Trust was hard to come by these days.

It was crazy that he somehow felt that same way about her. It was crazy how sometimes she’d turn around to see him looking at her. It was crazy how she’d kissed him on the top of his head that night and he hadn’t immediately lectured her on the responsibility he had to Mohit, or the impossibility of a relationship under the current circumstances. It wasn’t crazy, she realized, to think that he could return her feelings for him.

Her hand slipped, and the bobby pin she was using to pick the lock snapped. She cursed and took out another, quickly snapping it in half and bending it into the right shape to try again. Ajay must’ve heard her, because she heard his footsteps and then felt his presence right behind her.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, my hand just slipped,” Grace replied, unwilling to take her eyes off the lock. She took out another bobby pin, bent it to look like an L, and inserted it into the lock carefully to act as a lever. She fiddled with the other pin until she felt a click from inside. She smiled.

“I’m afraid to ask, but where did you learn to do this?” Ajay asked. Grace let out a little laugh.

“I learned it when I was a kid. I was really forgetful so I’d leave my house key at home all the time, and my parents weren’t home when I got out of school. I got one of the middle schoolers to teach me how, because I got tired of waiting outside for hours.”

“Yikes. I hope you’re not as forgetful now?”

After a moment of silent concentration and a final soft click, Grace was able to open the cabinet. She sat back and contemplated Ajay’s question.

“No, actually, I still forget things all the time. Where did I put my knife?” 

Ajay smiled and shook his head as Grace pretended to rummage through her bag.   
  


“Oh, no, where’s my first aid kit? My left ankle? Oh, god, don’t tell me I forgot my will to live…”

“Shut up,” Ajay said, almost letting out a laugh himself.

“I do know one thing I could never forget, though,” Grace teased, holding out her hand. It was hardly the first flirtation the two had shared, but it felt different than the others.

She was genuinely surprised when Ajay took her extended hand, lacing their fingers together securely. He gave her a crooked smile, the one that made her heart melt, and she decided to throw caution to the wind. 

“You’ve noticed this...” she broke off, gesturing between them with her free hand, “...between us, haven’t you? I’m not making it up in my head, am I?”

He smiled, ducking his head to watch their linked hands, and chuckled softly.

“No. No, you’re not making it up. I’ve noticed it too, there’s something here.”

“You’ve always said there’s no room for relationships in the group, though. That it would be bad if people broke up, ruined the group dynamic.”

“I know I said that,” Ajay said, “and most of me still believes that’s true.”

“And the rest?” Grace prompted shyly, squeezing his hand until he looked her in the eye.

“I never thought I’d want to worry about anyone else besides Mohit. I said I didn’t want that stress. But... you make me want to worry about you. You make me want to stand with you, to hold your hand, to sit beside you at every meal, even to wake up next to you. You make me want to be yours. You make me want to...” he stopped abruptly, and both of them suddenly noticed that he had moved to cup her jaw with his free hand, just now registering their close proximity, the way they could feel each other’s breath on their faces. Grace stared into Ajay’s deep brown eyes, wordlessly urging him to go on.

His face turned impossibly soft for a microsecond, but then he seemed to come to his senses. He pulled away from her, letting go of her hand at the same time.

“We can’t.”

“What?”

“I said too much.”

“You didn’t mean it?”

Ajay sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You mean more to me than you know, Grace. And I do have those feelings for you, but it’s just not a good idea.” he said, staring at the floor.

“Why not?” she demanded, edging closer to get him to look at her. His head snapped up, eyes flashing with some unknown but corrupted feeling. It was powerful enough to make Grace recoil.

“Because the universe isn’t just going to sit around and wait for us to figure this out!”

Grace thought for a few seconds.

“But isn’t that just a reason that we should? If we could both die tomorrow, if the world’s never going to be the same, what’s wrong with finding a little happiness?”

“This isn’t the kind of place that happiness belongs,” Ajay said, his tone changing to something flat and unreadable. “I want to—you have no idea how much I want to—but this isn’t the time or place. If we’d met four years earlier, if we lived in a different universe… but there’s no sense wondering.”

Ajay quickly got up, dusting his hands off on his pants.

“Come on, get what you need from the cabinet. I think I got everything on your list from the shelves, but you should probably double check. I’ll guard the hallway, then we can head back up to meet the group.”

Without another word, he slipped away. 

Grace could hardly read the words on the medicine containers in front of her, but a lifetime of heartbreak had taught her how to push it down, how to bottle it up until she could be alone. She wiped her mind blank, ignoring the shudders that passed through her body as she stood up, and got back to work.

Ajay paced up and down the hall, trying to rid himself of the disappointed feeling that seemed to be crashing against his chest. Now was not the time for those kind of feelings. Those feelings would make him careless. He was supposed to be a leader, so he had to act like one. He had to focus on the entire group.

He took a deep breath, leaning against the wall. He pulled off his glasses for a moment, wiping the lenses against his dust-covered jacket for a moment before putting them back on his face. After a moment of silence, Ajay heard the stairwell door creak open. He put his hand on the gun by his side. 

When Danielle rounded the corner, Ajay dropped his hand from where his gun sat and shot the girl an annoyed look.

“Where are Skye and Bailey?”

“Relax, they’re fine. But hey, look who I found!”

Ajay was ready to chew her out before he saw Rory. The tall teen rubbed the back of their neck with a quirky smile.

“Sorry I’m late to rehearsal?”

Ajay scoffed, “You’re always late, huh?”

Rory stepped forward, wrapping Ajay in a too-tight bear hug for a few moments.

“I hate to break it up, but the sun’s going to set in an hour or two. We should get everyone else and get out of here,” Danielle stated gesturing to one of the windows to show how the sun moved across the sky.

Ajay looked over and nodded. “Okay,” He turned toward where he had left Grace with a bit of hesitation. “I’ll get Grace.”

He heard Rory asking who Grace was when he turned to walk back down the hall, but he didn’t catch what Danielle said in return. He tried to keep his face completely stoic as he got closer, moving within earshot before calling over.

“Hey, ready to move?”

Grace only gave a nod, and it made Ajay’s heart grow heavier.

“Ajay, we have a problem,” Danielle started in a frantic tone that caused Ajay to stop in his tracks, “It’s Rory’s mom. She’s-”

“I found it! Already, let’s go. Mom’s really excited to see you again Ajay.”

Ajay looked over at Danielle who looked to be panicking before turning over to Grace to gauge her reaction. Grace shrugged as the group started following Rory down the hall.

Rory led them the rest of the way down the hall towards their mother's room, and the old wheelchair soldiered on with loud metallic clicking. As they drew closer, Ajay could hear dull laughter from behind some of the walls.

Rory turned to enter the room with the chair first as the rest of the group filed in. Ajay stopped short at the corpse, looking over to see Bailey and Skye on one side of the room, looking rather out of place. They stopped muttering to each other long enough for Bailey to force a smile and walk over to the excited Rory who was talking animatedly to her and their “mother” still on the bed.

He made his way over to where Skye stood, taking in her completely tense appearance as she watched Rory and Bailey like a hawk.

“What do you think?” 

He kept his voice low as he leaned against the wall next to her, his voice drowned out by Rory fiddling with the chair and chatting loudly with Bailey and Danielle.

“I think we need to get the hell out of here,” Skye replied just as softly, “and I don’t think they’re going to leave without someone telling them...”

Skye trailed off and Ajay gave a nod to show he understood. He could see Bailey’s smile getting more unsure as Rory started talking animatedly with the corpse.

“Rory, we need to talk.”

The entire room grew silent as they watched Rory carefully.

“Okay?”

“Rory, you’ve got to know-” Ajay hesitated looking over at the corpse and back to Rory, “you mother is dead.”

Rory’s entire face changed for only a second before the smile forced its way back.

“What? No she’s not, she’s right here.”

“Rory please, we want to help you but”

“She’s not dead!” The voice carried much more anger, “She’s right here!”

“Rory, think about this. We know it’s hard, but you can’t go on like this. You’ll end up dead yourself. She’s gone Rory, I’m sorry.”

“You’re lying”

“Have I  _ ever _ lied to you?” Ajay asked, trying to keep his tone from sounding too harsh, “I know this has to be hard for you to accept, but she’s gone. We need to get you would of here.”

“I’m not leaving without her.”

“...She was going to turn wasn’t she?” 

Rory’s attention is redirected to Skye who had moved a little closer, Jasper behind her.

“You know she’s dead because you stopped her from turning.”

Ajay took a reluctant look at the dead corpse, he clearly saw the open wound on the woman’s temple, a clear sign that someone knew she was going to die and that someone had stopped her from turning. Rory’s face looked torn in grief. After a few seconds tears started to rush to their eyes as if they were remembering the truth themself.

“You’re lying.”

Ajay took a deep breath, exhaling into the silence that spread through the room.

“I wish we were.”

Rory looked back over at Mrs. Silva’s decaying form on the bed as if seeing it for the first time. Their face twisted in pain as they fell to their knees. Muttered accusations of the group lying to them still flooded the room.

“Rory,” Bailey reached over, resting a hand on their shoulder, “We have to go.”

Bailey started pulling Rory by the wrist to move them along, only to be knocked away a little by Danielle, who swiftly took her place at Rory’s side. Bailey backed up a little as Danielle pulled Rory back to their feet.

Bailey shook it off and followed the group as they made their way out of the room, down the steps and back towards the window they had climbed in from. Rory moved like a zombie the entire time, as if they were still trying to avoid the truth behind Ajay and Bailey’s words. Their eyes looked lifeless as Danielle tugged them along.

The group jumped out the window and rushed towards the ambulance. Grace and Ajay jumped in the front and the rest piled into the back. Skye and Jasper jumped in last, closing the doors behind them as Grace sped up and turned the ambulance towards the road.

The back of the ambulance was dead quiet. The solar panels rest taking up a large portion of the ambulance, separating it in half. Danielle and Rory sat on one side, out of view of Bailey as she sat down on her side. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but she could barely make out Danielle whispering to Rory. Rory didn’t seem to be responding to whatever Danielle was saying.

Skye took her seat next to Bailey, Jasper trotted around for a second, sniffing at the panels that were carefully placed in front of them. 

“Come here doofus, those aren’t toys.”

Jasper walked away from the panels, tail wagging as he snuggled up to Skye’s side, laying his head in her lap. 

Bailey smiled at the scene for a moment before she felt her mind wander back to Mrs. Silva. Mrs. Silva in the kitchen of Rory’s childhood home making dinner while Rory and Bailey played in the backyard. Mrs. Silva who maintained such a beautiful garden in the spring and let Rory and Bailey build a treehouse in the backyard. Mrs. Silva who survived cancer once already and walked out of the hospital with the biggest smile on her face. 

Mrs. Silva’s body lying dead in the hospital bed. Rory’s pain flashing through their eyes and twisted their features as the truth of everything crashed against their chest.

Bailey tried to push the image out of her head. It kept coming back on repeat as if it were the only thing she could think about. Mrs. Silva was gone. Rory was in a pain that Bailey had never seen, and she felt helpless about both of those things. She couldn’t bring Mrs. Silva back, she couldn’t ease the pain in Rory’s eyes.

No matter how hard Bailey thought, she couldn’t figure it out. She couldn’t come up with a way to help. She couldn’t think of a way to ease Rory’s pain. She couldn’t think of a way to stop the sharp ache in her own chest as Mrs. Silva’s decaying form haunted her thoughts, tainting every memory she ever had of the woman. 

She felt her eyes start to burn a little. She couldn’t imagine what Rory was going through right now. What thoughts could be dancing around their head? Were they thinking about the same things she was? Were they just as confused about everything?

Mrs. Silva was gone, and like many others she wasn’t going to come back. Bailey felt herself reach out, trying to find something to ground her as she felt the pain start to dig into her chest. She doesn’t notice that her hand had wrapped around Skye’s until the other girl’s hand moved lightly against her own, catching her attention.

“Are…you okay?” Skye asked gently in a low tone, probably trying to give Rory and Danielle privacy in whatever conversation they were having on the other side of the ambulance. 

“Sorry, I-” Bailey looked down at their hands for a moment, “I-uh”

“I’m not really that good at the emotional support thing,” Skye added as she saw Bailey struggle for an answer, “that’s what he’s for.”

Bailey looked over at Jasper, who had fallen asleep on Skye’s lap. Bailey gave a little nod as she went to pull her hand away from Skye’s to pet the sleeping animal. She didn’t get far before Skye’s hand tightened around hers, keeping her from moving away. Bailey looked up to see the redhead staring intently at Jasper as he slept, shyly avoiding Bailey’s gaze.

Bailey felt a small smile form on her lips as she held Skye’s hand tighter, letting the warmth of the other girl’s hand ground her as the memories of the lost woman washed over her. After a few seconds she felt herself get a little more comfortable Skye’s presence. Bailey leaned closer, resting her head on Skye’s shoulder. Her free hand reached over and stroked Jasper’s head as he slept.

Bailey hadn’t realized how tired she had become before her head hit Skye’s shoulder. She felt a lingering sadness rest over her. The only thing keeping her from completely breaking down seemed to be Skye’s calming aura. She felt her eyes grow heavy as the drive continued. Just as she was about to close her eyes fully and doze off into a light sleep when Ajay’s voice echoed through the ambulance.

“...Is that Clint?”

Two heads, belonging to Danielle and Rory, turned at the same time to see what Ajay was talking about. Danielle ran up to peer between the two front seats, and sure enough she saw a telltale mop of blond hair, a freckled face turned towards another boy that she didn’t recognize.

“That’s Clint,” she confirmed, and Grace hit the brakes. As she unlocked the doors, Danielle jumped out of the back and ran to greet the two, both of whom startled in surprise as she ran towards them. The black-haired boy backed away reflexively, but the blond just stared in surprise.

“Danielle? A- Ajay?”

Ajay had chosen that moment to clamber out of the passenger side of the cab. Clint wiped the dust out of his eyes, and gestured to the unfamiliar boy that these people were friends. He raced to pull both Ajay and Danielle into a hug, neither of them really liking the idea but dealing with it for Clint’s sake.

“Rory’s here, too,” Danielle said, pointing to the ambulance. “We’re all… dealing with something right now. We went on a raid to the hospital, and we found Rory and their mom, but–”

“Their mom didn’t make it,” Ajay interrupted, censoring whatever Danielle had been about to say. Clint’s face fell.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, tears filling his eyes. “You all must be distraught. But… wait, where are you based?”

“Berry,” Danielle said, sounding annoyed that Ajay had interrupted her. “Ajay and his little brother have been holed up there the longest, then the rest of us have been coming in slowly.”

“So you’re the people I saw in the school,” the other boy said, maintaining a defense stance a healthy distance away from Ajay and Danielle. “But you’re also Clint’s friends?”

“Yeah, from high school before the breakout,” Clint said, gesturing the boy forward. “Guys, this is Graham. We sort of formed a team because we’re neighbors. Do… do you guys have any room left at the school?”

“We’ve got nothing but room,” Ajay said, “Especially if you have food or other useful items.”

Clint’s eyes widened before he realized Ajay was joking. “Oh. Oh, yeah, sure. We have some canned food and bottled water, I think Graham has some batteries.”

“Hop on in the back, then. And do me a favor,” Ajay said quietly, “try and talk to Rory? I think seeing a friendly face might help them.”

Clint and Graham nodded solemnly, and followed Danielle into the back of the ambulance. Clint stopped short when he noticed the large dog in the back followed by two unfamiliar faces. Graham on the other hand didn’t seem to recognize anyone. There was a quick round of introductions, then something else in the vehicle caught Graham’s eye.

“Oh my god, are those working solar panels?”

“Hopefully,”

“This is just like the rig I’ve set up in the robotics club,” Graham turned to Clint excitedly, “I mean the robotics club scale was much smaller but this is great! I’d love to lend a hand.”

“No thanks-”

“Skye would love the help.”

Clint watches the redhead glare at her blonde companion, who was trying to not laugh at the angry face.

“So, um,” Clint gestured to the dog who had woken up, “Are they friendly?”

“Skye or Jasper?” Danielle asked with a roll of her eyes as she retook her seat next to Rory, who hadn’t looked up at Graham or Clint coming into the back with them.

“Both?”

“No,” Skye answered shortly as the blonde elbowed her.

“Be nice.”

Clint gave a half smile before noticing the broken look on Rory’s face and how they weren’t looking up at the lighthearted banter. The other occupants seemed to notice the attempts at lightening the mood. Clint watched as the group fell into a sad silence before walking over and taking a seat next to Rory.

“Hey,”

Rory barely looked up...


	6. From Shadows

_ August 14, 2021 _

_ I was right. It is nice to have a roof and four walls. A world nicer than the one behind the dumpsters. _

_ It was convenient that we ran into other Berry High people. I can’t think of a better leader for this ragtag group than Ajay, he was the only way we were able to pull together all those productions in high school. If anyone can get us through this, it’s him. _

_ Of course I’m excited to see Rory again, but… something seems off about them. I know their mother died, but… hell, I think all of us have dead mothers. They’re not doing well, I can tell that much. The makeshift motto of this new world is ‘just keep going,’ and they’re definitely not going. I rarely see their face in common areas around the school. _

_ Natalie was always my partner in crime in high school, and our reunion was one for the history books. It was almost like nothing ever changed. It sort of feels like we’re just starting our sophomore year together.  _

_ I can tell that Graham still doesn’t trust anyone, mostly because I heard him moving around all last night. He won’t go anywhere that he can’t see me– I’m definitely not complaining about that. I think he’s marked Skye and Trevor as the most suspicious out of the entire group. I have to agree with him. They, more than anyone else, look like they’re hiding something dark. _

_ I’m happy here, though. And he doesn’t say it, but I can tell that Graham’s happy to be working on something technical, like the solar panels. But he sleeps with his eyes open, and honestly? So do I. _

***

“This fucking sucks,” the taller redhead groaned as the two walked down to the beach just outside the borders of the compound. “I fucking hate clean up duty. Hurry up, I want to get back before lunch.”

The smaller of the two only nodded. Clean up duty wasn’t anyone’s favorite chore. It consisted of going outside the tall walls of the compound and walking along the beach getting rid of any dead that washed up from boats or shipwrecks. The taller redhead quickly moved away towards a washed up walker attempting to crawl out from the shallower water.

“Brian-”

“Shove it, it’ll only take a second.”

Skye shrugged and pulled her axe off her bag and started walking in the opposite direction. Whatever got them done with the job faster. Skye couldn’t care less at this point how it got done.

The walkers were nicer dressed then usual, probably from a cruise ship. There were several bodies that had floated to the sand dressed in nice cocktail clothing and flashy blood-stained jewelry. A few of them were still groaning as they tried to move up the sand towards the compound. 

Killing them had become very easy in the last few months. It was easy to see the walkers as nothing but monsters with the intensive training the group provided to all new members they scooped up. Brian and Skye were no exception. 

Aim for the head, destroy the brain, move on.

Skye did just that, swinging the axe with a practiced precision, striking the walkers in the temple or forehead, cracking through the skull and leaking dark red or blackened blood down the faces of the dead. Skye was almost done with her side when she saw it. A familiar mass of red hair sticking into the wet sand. Her mother’s favorite cocktail dress still clung to her paper-thin skin as she looked up at Skye with lifeless eyes. Her mother’s face was warped with torn skin and rotting flesh. Her jaw was broken and hanging by a single hinge.

It was a gruesome enough sight to make Skye hesitate, her axe hanging limply from her hand as the walker let out a hiss and reached its bony arm out to her. Once very expensive diamonds were draped around the outstretched wrist.

Skye felt sorry for her. A sadness settled in her chest as she forced herself to raise the weapon, aiming at the dead woman's forehead. Only when it was fully pulled back did Skye realize she couldn’t do it. She didn't want to do it. It was her mother lying there, not a nameless corpse.

She took in a shaky breath, the faint stench of death a reminder of how things had to be now. She swung the weapon and closed her eyes a second before the sickening squish of flesh and brain echoed much louder than normal in her head.

She pulled the axe away and turned away from the corpse. She stood there for a second, the sound of her heart pounding in her ears as she tried to compose herself before going back to Brian.

Skye took a breath and turned back to where her and her brother has split up. She didn’t get more than a few feet before she heard the crack of gunfire. Several shots rang out in quick session, as if her brother had gone trigger happy. Skye ducked to the side of a washed up boat and waiting for the shots to stop.

After a few seconds of quiet, Skye poked her head around the corner. She could hear Brian cursing and ran over in the direction of his voice.

Brian was still cursing when she reached him, slamming his foot angrily into the head of a walker. Dark red blood soaked through the sand as he continued beating the body. Skye kept her distance, watching him curse up a storm and beat the walker until the face was completely beaten in. It looked like all the bullets fired did a number on the face before Brian’s boot got the chance.

Brian backed up, turning to Skye sharply. The motion caused Skye to flinch back, all too familiar with her brother’s temper. His dark green eyes were dead giveaways as to just how pissed off he was.

“What? You want a swing?”

Why would she? Her face must have gave away her confusion because Brian snorted as if she were stupid.

“Are you blind now? You don’t recognize that stupid suit?”

She didn’t particularly want to look at the bloodbath her brother had caused. Rather then making her brother angrier, Skye gave in and turned her head to take in the tattered and torn dark blue suit. There were traces of grey hair on what remained of the head of the body. Maybe at one point it was well tailored. What did catch Skye’s attention was the watch.

She knew that watch. It was a sin in the Crandall household to not know it. 

It was her father’s prized possession. A custom Versace two-toned watch in gold with a dark blue face. The 12 at the top replaced with a silver etching of a wolf’s head. Her father bragged about that watch at almost every get together with their other very wealthy friends. Apparently Versace didn’t do customs, the one he had was a design that was never released to the public. A gift from a business partner.

A female business partner. Her mother had hated that watch.

“Did it click yet, dumbass?”

Brian huffed and leaned over to remove her father’s prized possession. He examined it for a moment before tossing it into the ocean.

“Asshole had the fucking nerve to ask me for help? After he left us, he can rot here on the beach,” Brian grumbled angrily as he turned to head back to the compound. “I’m fucking hungry, let’s go.”

Skye didn’t argue, she followed a few paces behind her brother as they walked back. After a few minutes he seemed to simmer down a bit.

“At least I know you won’t leave.”

It was the only nice thing Brian ever said to her. It was pathetic that she was a little happy about it. She and her brother had never had a good relationship. It wasn’t great now, but at the very least they had to rely on each other to survive. 

***

Skye hadn’t thought about that day in a while. Maybe it was Rory that reminded her of it? Seeing Mrs. Silva decaying on the bed similarly to how her own mother washed up on the beach. 

Working with Graham was different then working with Brian. Graham was chatty. Nervous chatty. A level of chatty that Skye was not used to. While it was nice to have someone help with the solar panels, Skye couldn’t get over how long Graham could just talk. They were moving the solar panels from the van towards the gym before moving them up the stairs to the roof to install. The school was two stories and the roof was flat, perfect for the solar panels to get plenty of sun. 

Skye and Graham went to pick up the last remaining panel in the back of the ambulance to start moving it when Skye stopped him. She had been fighting with something for a while, if she wanted to find out, she knew she’d have to ask. Skye was never good with people, even before the outbreak, so when it came to trying to get information she was a little less then tactful.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Graham shrugged with a slightly forced smile as Skye fished into her pocket and pulled out a stolen picture from the house they stole the solar panels from.

“Have you seen her?”

Graham looked over at the picture of the smiling blonde. Her light hair pushed back from her face and a vibrant red cheer uniform. It looked like the girl was at a football game. The picture was folded so he couldn’t see who else was in the photo. He shook his head.

“Sorry.”

Skye frowned and pocketed the photo. She silently takes the other side of the panel as they begin moving them out of the back of the bus.

“So, is she someone important or-”

“Forget it, let’s just get these out.”

Graham stared for a second before looking back down at the panels and getting to work. After a few minutes he went back to his story about some robotics tournament that Skye only half listened to. 

***

Grace didn’t see Erin enter the nurse’s office, but she heard the taller girl’s footsteps on the vinyl floor and didn’t startle when Erin tried to get her attention. Grace finished changing the dressing on Casey’s wound, which was almost healed enough that he could be fully mobile, and turned to Erin.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Erin replied, her eyebrows furrowed. “Can I talk to you about something?”

It was Grace’s turn to look confused. She nodded towards a stool, indicating that Erin should sit there. Both girls cast a look over at the cot, but Casey had either fallen asleep or was doing a very good job of faking it.

“What’s up?” Grace asked.

“Did something happen with you and Ajay?”

Grace’s gaze dropped to the floor, and she turned so she wasn’t facing Erin.

“...Yes,” Grace muttered, cursing her own inability to lie. 

“What happened?”

Grace just shook her head. She had resolved not to talk about their conversation in the hospital pharmacy, because if she didn’t talk about it then it was easier to avoid thinking about it. Erin seemed to understand, and put a little more distance between the two. 

“You don’t have to tell me, but… whatever it is, I can tell it’s really bothering him.”

Grace pressed her lips together. “Yeah. But Erin, no offense, but if he wants to talk about it I’d rather he just come talk to me himself.”

Erin’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, he didn’t send me or anything. He’d kill me if he knew I was here.”

“Then why’d you come talk to me?” Grace asked, finally looking back up.

“It’s just that I’ve been his best friend for a long time, and I can tell when he’s hiding something. He hasn’t been himself since yesterday, and frankly, neither have you.”

“How would you know what I’m like? You’ve only known me for a week.”

“But in that week I’ve never seen one of you without the other, except yesterday and today. I could tell you were very close.”

“Near-death experiences will do that to you,” Grace joked, starting to relax a bit.

Erin laughed, but then turned serious.

“Grace, I know he cares a lot about you–”

Grace cut her off with a wave. “That’s exactly the problem. I think he cares too much.”

Unable to come up with a response, Erin fell silent.

“It’s okay, Erin,” Grace said, cracking a small but genuine smile. “How are you doing, though?”

“Worried about Rory,” Erin said, her expression darkening. “They’re really not doing well.”

“I know,” Grace agreed. “It was a miracle that we were able to get them out of the hospital at all, with the state they were in. I think the shock of breaking them out of the hallucination might hurt them more than getting out helped them.”

“Maybe, but what choice did we have?” Erin wondered. “They were going to die if they stayed there.”

Grace nodded, lost in thought. She was just about to say something else when she noticed that her shelf was almost out of stocked bandages. She stood up suddenly, startling Erin.

“I need to go get bandages,” she said. “Can you watch Casey for a few minutes?”

“Um, what should I do?” Erin asked, slightly panicked.

“Yell for me if he starts to die,” Grace said with a grin, and then left the nurse’s office before Erin could ask anything else.

Erin cast a look at the blond boy on the cot. Maybe he could sense her staring at him, though, because he stirred.

“Hm?” he mumbled, eyes half-open.

“Hey, Casey.”

“Erin?”

“Yeah. You doing ok?”

“Yeah, just tired,” the boy said, trying to prop himself up on his elbows. “Grace had me walking and stretching a lot. She doesn’t want me to get out of shape just because I can’t use my arm.”

“Good idea. Well, she just asked me to stay here with you while she grabbed some bandages.”

“Making sure I don’t stop breathing?”   
  


“Something like that.” Erin sighed. “Your sister really thinks the world of you, by the way.”

Casey had the audacity to look a little surprised at that comment. “Well, we’ve been through hell together. I think the world of her too.”

Erin smiled. “That’s good. I had that with my sister, too…” she said, trailing off. Pain filled her eyes. It clearly wasn’t something she let herself think about.

Casey impulsively reached over to take Erin’s hand.

“I’m sorry,” he said. 

And maybe those were just the words Erin needed to hear, because she steeled herself and gave his hand a squeeze before letting go.

“Thanks,” she said softly. With another sniff, she put her mask back on. Casey offered her a warm smile, and she did her best to return it.

Just then, Grace entered the office and looked distressed to see Casey sitting up.

“No!” she said, rushing to his bedside. “You’re supposed to be resting!”

“I can talk to people, can’t I?” he fired back. Grace pursed her lips, but turned away to stock the shelf. Erin turned to go, waving at Casey. Casey rolled his eyes and made a face at Erin, who barely stifled her giggle. 

Grace turned back around and sat, bending over Casey’s wound. She examined it for a few minutes, then sat back to open a sterile wipe for cleaning.

“Good news,” she said. “I think the infection is almost gone.” She smiled.

Casey matched her grin. “That is good news.”

“I’m sorry I’ve been so strict with you,” Grace said, turning back to Casey to clean the wound. “I’m just scared. I didn’t want to fail you, or make you hurt any worse.”

“I know, Grace. It’s okay. And I’m definitely doing better now than I was when I first got here. So, thank you. I probably literally owe you my life.”

Grace laughed, throwing away the wipe and re-dressing the wound. “You’ll need to keep it still for a bit longer, and keep it covered, but after tomorrow morning you’ll probably be able to go back to normal activities.  _ Careful _ normal activities, though,” she reminded him, and they both laughed. 

“I’ll be careful. Promise.”

***

Ajay frowned as he leaned forward in the chair of the principal’s office. He had been going through some maps of Cedar Cove they found in the geography classroom. In red pen he’d marked the more walker-populated areas, as well as any known landmarks. Trevor had waltzed in a few minutes ago, going on about a supply run that he needed to go on.

“You want to go north to the farm to get fertilizer and propane for explosives,” Ajay repeated the statement.

“It’s for a defense project I’m working on,” Trevor reasoned with a bit of a smile. “It’s great that we’ve got a lot of new people, but now we gotta protect them. I’m working on some new traps to help keep lurkers away. You can’t deny the chance that a horde can come through here. It’s better that we’re prepared.”

“I agree with you on that. But I’m not understanding why the traps need to explode. Won’t that attract more walkers?”

“Traditionally, but the device I’m working on would be a muffled explosion. I’m thinking landmines. They’re reasonably quiet if done right, and it would allow us to do damage to the walkers before they can get to us.”

“I’m just worried about the possible damage if the explosion was triggered accidentally when it was in the school,” Ajay said. 

“I’ll work on it and store it outside,” Trevor said. “Really, you think I’d let any harm come to anyone here.”

Ajay narrowed his eyes at Trevor. It wasn’t that he  _ didn’t _ trust him, but he knew back from high school that the boy sometimes had a double agenda. But he couldn’t deny that he had a point. 

“I need your word that you’ll be as careful as possible. I can’t have you blowing yourself up either, we need your expertise.”

“You’re such a control freak, Ajay,” Trevor joked, but Ajay’s expression only hardened.

“It’s kept me and Mohit alive for three years.”

Trevor fell silent. Ajay looked him over for a few seconds more, thinking.

"Take Danielle with you."

"Yeah, okay, buddy system."

"Skye and Bailey too."

Trevor flashed an annoyed look.

"Why do I have to bring them?"

"Skye said she came down to Cedar Cove from up north, she's more familiar with the farmlands up that way. Rules are to travel in groups, so Bailey will go too."

It wasn't much of a choice. Clint and Graham had just gotten to the school while Casey was still resting. Erin could sub for Bailey, but Skye was more responsive to the blonde than anyone else. 

"You can leave tomorrow, then you'll have the full day."

"It won't take that long, no need to waste a whole day. We can leave after lunch and get back here before sundown."

Ajay sighed. "Fine."

Trevor smiled and turned to leave.

"But you better be back before sunrise, or there will be consequences."

"Sure."

***

The gym had been turned into a makeshift training area. It was… crude, to say the least. Danielle had told Clint that she had put it together because it helped her relax knowing she wasn't cooped up in a house anymore. 

Clint had tried sparring with Danielle. He wanted something to do that wouldn't make him look like an anxious puppy every time Graham and Skye walked through with a panel. It took all of ten seconds for Danielle to throw him on his back.

"Are you sure you’re okay?" 

Natalie walked over to him with a concerned look. She had been supervising Mohit while he played with Jasper. The white floof chased after a tattered tennis ball that Skye had offered him. Mohit laughed as he tossed the ball as far as he could. The throw was quickly echoed by the sounds of Jasper's claws on the old gym floor.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Danielle didn’t throw me that hard.”

Natalie smiled and let out a hum as she looked over towards Graham and Skye as they maneuvered the panel through the gym.

“So,” Clint started rubbing the back of his neck, “what’s everyone like now?”

“Ajay’s still Ajay as far as I can tell. It’s actually really nice to see him still taking charge and leading everyone like he did when we were all in theatre together. Erin’s been holding it together pretty well. I think she still has days where she’s really sad about things that have happened but she’s still reliable. Danielle’s-”

Natalie trailed off as she glanced in the other girl’s direction.

“...as determined as ever. She can be a bit on the ruthless side, but it’s only because she has the group’s interests in mind. I haven’t known Grace very long but she’s really smart and can hold her own with Danielle in arguments, which is super funny to watch. Casey’s been hurt for most of the time he’s here, so I don’t know too much about him. He’s kinda goofy, which could just be the painkillers, but it’s refreshing. Bailey’s really sweet. Then there’s Skye. I don’t think she really trusts any of us yet. She kinda just sticks by Bailey.”

“What about Trevor?”

“Trevor’s… odd. He’s been kinda keeping to himself. He camps out in the science buildings. He had a bit of a fallout with Skye the first night they were here, and that's caused a little tension.”

Clint nods and watches as Graham and Skye walk back through the doors to retrieve another panel. Graham removed his glasses for a moment, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he walked. He caught Clint’s eye and flashed him a smile.

Clint smiled back as the two disappeared through the door. He watched after them until he could feel Natalie’s stare on the side of his head.

“What?”

Natalie just smirked as Clint tried to hide his face.

“Nothing.”

***

It was Bailey’s turn to pass out the afternoon ration of water and food. She rather liked that particular job, it gave her a chance to check in on everyone. Bailey started with the infirmary, giving her a chance to check in on Casey.

“Hey Casey!”

The blonde haired boy turned his head at the noise and grinned when Bailey set a bottle of water and an aged granola bar on the table next to the bed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better, the warden’s been letting me move around more,” Casey joked as Grace looked up from unpacking several medication bottles to roll her eyes at him, “I’m still kinda tired, but Grace said that could just be the medications.”

“Glad to see you doing better. I hope you haven’t been giving Grace too hard of a time.”

“Me?” Casey gasped, feigning offense. “I’ve been the perfect patient.”

Bailey chuckled and walked over to where Grace was, placing her rations on the counter, out of the way of the bottles Grace was sorting through.

“Thank you for taking care of Casey, I know he can be a bit difficult.”

“I can hear you!”

Grace smirked as she played along.

“He has gotten a bit louder since we started giving him antibiotics.”

“You’re both mean.”

“That’s my job as a big sister, so when are you getting out of here?”

“You’re only older by two minutes,” Casey grumbled, “and Grace says I can go back to parkour and walker slaying after tomorrow.”

“I did not say that!” Grace shook her head. “If you hurt yourself again you can patch yourself up.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ll be on kitchen duty for a while, since Ajay’s sending me and Skye on a mission,” Bailey started. “He’s sending a few of us to that farm up north where mom and dad used to get fresh produce for the diner?”

“Oh yeah! I remember that place.”

“Trevor and Danielle are going to be there too. Ajay wanted me to gather everyone as I passed out supplies.”

“It’s kinda late,” Grace hummed as she paused in her work. “The sun will set in a few hours.”

“I guess Trevor came up with the idea to go there, because Danielle seemed surprised we were leaving this late too. Ajay seemed a little frustrated when he told me I was going...”

“Is putting Trevor and Skye in the same group a good idea?” Casey cut in, suddenly serious. “They haven’t really spoken to each other since the first night we were here.”

“Danielle and I will be there too, but you’re right. I’m a little worried.”

“I wish I could go with you, at least that way I can have your back if something happens,” Casey sighed. “Please be careful.”

“It’s okay, I’ll have Skye to watch out for me.”

“You two have gotten close,” Casey mentioned.

“I mean, we share a room so we talk at night when we can’t fall asleep.”

Bailey hated the smirk that made its way onto Casey’s face.

“Oh, really?”

“Shut up, it’s not weird!”

Casey laughed as Bailey fought the bit of red threatening to flash across her face.

“Well, I can’t deny she’s great backup in a fight, I’ve seen her take down walkers,” Casey stated as his laughter died down, “so I guess if I can’t back you up I’m glad you have someone who takes out walkers as effectively as her.”

“I’ll be careful. It should be a quick mission and we’ll be back before dinner.”

Casey nodded as Bailey gave him a one-armed hug before turning to leave the room.

“I better get going. Ajay probably won’t like it if we leave late.”

“See ya later!”

***

Danielle wasn’t happy about leaving Rory in their current state. They hadn’t left their room since the day before. No matter what she did, Rory didn’t seem to be getting any better. 

They only really talked when Bailey came around, to drop off water or meals. It got under Danielle’s skin every time Bailey drew a “thank you” out of Rory where they wouldn’t utter a word to Danielle.

Bailey and Skye walked through the door a few seconds later. Danielle heard the scoff that left Trevor’s lips. It was going to feel like a really long supply run.

“So, how are we doing this?”

“We’re going to take the ambulance.”

“Can you drive an ambulance?” Danielle asked with a raised eyebrow. “The whole point of a supply run is getting there and back in once piece.”

“It’ll be fine, I’ve driven bigger.”

Trevor turned away from the group, waltzing over to the rust-decorated ambulance. Danielle let out a huff as Trevor pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked it. 

“Let’s go.”

The other three shared a look before wordlessly piling into the ambulance. After a few seconds, Trevor was able to situate himself in the driver’s seat and turned the key in the ignition to bring the vehicle to life. He grinned as he adjusted the mirrors and backed out of the parking spot and towards the road. 

“You’re not bringing Jasper?” Bailey noticed the white marshmallow wasn’t at Skye’s side. Skye let out a little hum.

“Mohit was having a lot of fun playing with him. I think he’ll be okay with the little gremlin until we get back.”

Trevor’s driving was very different than Grace’s. Trevor cruised through the streets making sharp turns that caused Bailey’s stomach to flip a few times. She could hear Danielle nag him to drive slower or to stop making such sharp turns. 

The farm wasn’t too far away from the school. Honestly, Bailey was sure they could have walked it, but using a vehicle would be faster so maybe Ajay had asked them to take the ambulance so they could get back in time.

“I’m going to park here,” Trevor announced after a few minutes. “We’ll keep it hidden behind that old lean-to, just in case.”

As soon as the ambulance stopped, Bailey and Skye hopped out quickly, both starting to feel motion sick from Trevor’s driving. After a few deep breaths of fresh air, Bailey looked up to take in their surroundings.

The fields were surprisingly empty. There wasn’t a single walker in sight.

“Weird,” Bailey mused out loud.

“It’s probably too quiet around here to attract them.”

“That’s good for us,” Danielle stretched as she stepped out of the driver’s seat, “This should be easy in and out.”

Danielle moved to the back to unload her rifle. She turned towards the direction of the main barn and looked through the scope.

“I don’t see any movement from here, but we should move quickly and quietly.”

“Let’s head to the main house first, that should have what we’re looking for.”

Trevor led the group through the field. The crops were dry from lack of care, leaving nothing but dirt across the field. Grass grew high in the areas where Bailey assumed animals had been kept. After a minute, a movement from inside one of the makeshift shelters caught her attention.

“Look! A horse!”

It was a little too loud, and Trevor frowned at her instantly before looking over at the creature as it walked a few feet to nibble at grass.

“Wow,” Danielle whispered. “Doesn’t look too skinny either, I guess there’s enough grass to keep them fed?”

Bailey moved a little closer to the fence to get a better view of the dark colored horse. Its fur shined in the sunlight. A rope harness was draped around its face. Danielle was right, the horse looked well-fed. What if there was still someone living in the barn?

That could spell trouble. Bailey let out a worried hum as she looked over the creature.

“...What’s that on it’s butt?” she asked.

“It looks like a brand,” Danielle said as she leaned a bit closer. “I can’t really tell what it is. Some kind of bug, maybe? Like a firefly but different.”

“Maybe we should leave. This place might not be as empty as we think it is.” Bailey looked over at Skye to see her face a little paler than usual.

“I don’t see why that scares  _ you _ ,” Trevor snarled. “You can just kill them if they become a problem.”

“You counting me out of the fight, Trevor?” Danielle intervened as Skye looked away from the group. She gestured to the rifle in her hands. “Bet between the two of us, I’m the better shot.”

Trevor didn’t say anything, just turned and continued walking towards the main house. Danielle turned towards the other two, noticing Skye’s visible discomfort.

“Hey, we’ll be fine. I’ll hang back and cover you guys.”

Bailey nodded and turned to Skye, who still hadn’t turned to look at either of them.

“Come on, we’ll be quick, I promise.”

Skye slowly looked up at Bailey, searching her face for a moment before giving a quick nod. The two hurried to catch up with Trevor has he fiddled with the lock on the front door of the main house. After a few seconds, Trevor gave a victorious grin and swung the door open.

“Jackpot!” Trevor rushed in before even looking to see if there was anyone around to back him up. Bailey went to follow him, quickly stopping when she felt a tug at her sleeve. She looked over to see Skye halted in the doorway.

“Stay close,” she said quietly.

Bailey nodded. Seeing Skye that unsure worried her. Thinking back to the hospital, Skye waltzed through walkers with a stoic confidence. Now she seemed almost scared. Bailey took a breath before stepping through the door. The wood whined under her feet as she stepped through the threshold and into the house.

The house was much cleaner than Bailey through it would be. As she walked, she noticed the lack of broken glass and tossed around furniture. 

“This is sick, there’s so much food here!” Trevor called from the kitchen, loudly shoveling cans of food into his backpack.

Bailey looked around the kitchen to see a startling lack of dust. She felt uneasy, they probably should leave, quickly. If there were people living here, they might not take too kindly to people stealing their food. She looked around quickly to see if there were any traces of someone still in the house and quickly noticed the same symbol from the horse carved roughly into the wall.

It was a dragonfly. A simplistic design carved into the cracked paint of the farmhouse.

Bailey suddenly felt a hard tug on her sleeve, she looked over to Skye only to see the girl looking like she might throw up.

“I need to tell you something.”

The entire room seemed to freeze when Bailey heard a familiar metallic click.

“Drop the cans.”

Trevor raised his hands as a young girl with dark skin and black curly hair tied back into a ponytail appeared behind the fridge door. The barrel of her gun was trained on Trevor’s head as he slowly turned to her. How had they not heard her walk into the kitchen?

“You think you can steal from us?” the girl asked with a hard expression. “None of you will leave here alive.”

The girl looked away briefly to see the rest of them, and she seemed startled for a second when her eyes landed on Skye.

“...Skye?”

In a split second the girl’s eyes flashed from surprise to anger. She glanced back at Trevor for only a moment to make sure he hadn’t moved before her eyes went back to Skye.

“You shouldn’t have come here.”

“Skye, who is this?” Bailey asked, slowly turning her head to Skye, who was glaring back at the girl.

“Jade. We used to go on supply runs together,” Skye offered coldly. She addressed Jade, “Let him go, he’ll put the food back.”

It was quiet for a second. Bailey started to hear her heart pounding in her ears. Had they already gotten to Danielle? Or maybe they weren’t in a good enough spot for her to get a shot. The quiet didn’t last long before a subtle creak of the floorboards echoed softly through the kitchen.

It only took a second for Skye to spin around at the noise. Bailey just barely saw the flash of metal before Skye’s forearm was caught mid swing, her butterfly knife a few inches from the throat of their second attacker. The boy looked a few years older than them, blonde hair slicked back and icy eyes trained on Skye with an amused smirk.

“Hey pipsqueak, long time no see.”

In a second Bailey heard the knife clatter on the ground. Skye’s arm was twisted harshly behind her back and she was slammed into the ground. The older boy held her down effortlessly and looked up to Bailey with a grin.

“Hey now, I hope we didn’t scare you too much.” 

Bailey didn’t like the guy’s tone of voice. 

“How about we make a deal, sweetheart? You’re much too cute to kill over a little misunderstanding. I’ll let you and your friend over there go if you return all our food.”

Trevor quickly pushed his backpack towards Jade before putting his hands back up.

“Ok deal, can we go now?”

“Sure,” the boy smiled wider, “Jade, let ’em go.”

“Max, are you sure about-”

“Hey blondie, you see that carving in the wall?” Max asked as he gestured to the dragonfly, completely ignoring Jade’s voice. “Do you know what that means?”

Bailey stared blankly.

“So, Skye here hasn’t told you. That’s a symbol for Delta, one of the most adapted survival groups. Delta recruits young people and trains them to become soldiers. We fight to expand Delta’s empire and rebuild civilization. To be part of Delta is to be part of a revolution. We put the survival of Delta above the survival of anyone else. Delta marks everything they’ve gained since the outbreak with a dragonfly. Want to guess why?”

Bailey shook her head slowly.

“The dragonfly represents change, transformation, adaptability, the things that make it possible for anyone to survive. Every horse, cow, pig, property–” Max gestured to the side of his neck where a black dragonfly was tattooed, “–and person is marked to show that we belong to Delta. To show what Delta has achieved over the years.”

Max uses his free hand to reach down, roughly moving Skye’s hair away from her neck, revealing a very similar black dragonfly tattoo towards the back right side of her neck.

“Your friend belongs to Delta.”

The words didn’t ring out in Bailey’s head. Delta. She had heard that name in passing, when Horatio had led them to the Whisperer camp before his death. They were a group of military survivors that were trying to regain control since the outbreak happened. It wasn’t uncommon to hear the names of larger groups pass through settlements like whispers.

They had all been the same in Bailey’s mind. Groups of people going to war with each other over land, food, water or all three. She and Casey had seen the effects of civil wars between settlements as they traveled towards Cedar Cove.

_ “ _ _ Before I met you I used to be with a group who were more… aggressive in their quest for survival.” _

Bailey blinked as she remembered her conversation with Skye the first night they were at Berry. Delta was the group she was talking about, the group she had run away from.

“Bailey, come on, let’s get out of here.” She felt Trevor tug at her, having finally scrambled away from his spot on the floor by the fridge.

“I’m not leaving without Skye.”

Max laughed, completely unfazed.

“Wow, sweetheart. I guess a pretty face is all you have going for you, huh? I just gave you a way out. Unless of course, you  _ want _ to join Delta. Or you maybe you just want to die?”

Max gave a little nod to Jade, who raised her gun to catch Bailey in her sights.

Trevor decided to bolt. He dashed out the door at a speed Bailey had never seen him move. Jade cursed under her breath and ran after him.

“What a– SHIT!”

Max jumped off Skye quickly when Skye managed to maneuver her free arm around to retrieve her knight, digging it deep into Max’s ankle. He wheeled back cursing as Skye jumped to her feet and grabbed Bailey’s arm, pulling her out the door and towards the ambulance with Trevor far ahead of them. They jolt at the crack of gunfire, seeing a few more figures move from the bar toward the main house, taking several shots at Trevor and the ambulance as Danielle started returning fire from the top of the ambulance. 

Skye veered hard to the left as bullets kicked up dirt and dust next to them. Bailey was yanked to the side a pace behind her as Skye pulled her down to take cover behind a shambled brick half wall that decorated a very dead garden.

The sound of an engine coming to life caught Bailey's attention as she looked up to see their means of escape kicking up dirt as he sped away, bullets clinking against the metal side. Danielle held on to the lights on top with all her might as Trevor gunned it back down the road.

"What do we do now?" Bailey asked.

"We take the long way." Skye seized Bailey’s wrist again and moved quickly around the old chicken coop, trying to get out of sight before they could make a run for the treeline.

Skye went to turn the corner when a very close roar of gunfire rang out. A bullet drove into Skye’s leg just above her right knee. She hit the ground hard, pulling Bailey down with her. Bailey pushed herself up, adrenaline racing as blood gushed from the wound on Skye's leg. The redhead seemed completely frozen, as if the thought of bleeding out hadn't occurred to her. Her face quickly paled.

"I told you," an angry growl echoed near them as a tall redhead stomped over, "that if I ever saw you again,  _ I'd put a bullet in you _ ."

***

Trevor hadn't stopped, hadn't even looked in the rearview mirror until he pulled the ambulance noisily into its parking spot. He wiped at the cold sweat on his forehead before he heard the clambering of Danielle climbing down from the top of the vehicle.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?!"

Danielle had forced the door separating them open, causing Trevor to jump and lean away from her.

"You could have killed me! And you left Skye and Bailey back there."

“Did you miss the part about the guys with the guns? I did what I had to do to get out of there. That’s survival 101.”

Trevor pushed past her and started towards the school, shoving his hands in his pockets along the way. Danielle snarled and started after him.

“You think Ajay is going to be okay with that? With you leaving people behind to save yourself?”

“Don’t act so noble,” Trevor spun to face her, “like you were going to risk your life for them. You don’t even like Bailey and you only tolerate Skye because she spars with you.”

“That doesn’t mean I wanted them to die, dammit! Trevor, you gave Skye so much shit for admitting to killing someone but what you’re doing isn’t much better.”

Trevor just scoffed and turned to walk back to the room where he usually toyed with his experiments. Danielle grabbed him by the color of the jacket.

“No.” Her voice was firm as she yanked him back to face her. “We’re talking to Ajay first.”

Danielle didn’t give him a chance to argue. She pulled him down the halls roughly. She caught Erin’s eye as she turned a corner, heading straight for the principal’s office. She heard footsteps behind her as Erin and Natalie tried to catch up.

“Wow, what happened?”

Danielle didn’t answer, she flung open the doors to the principal’s office, frowning when Ajay isn’t there.

“If you’re looking for Ajay, he and Mohit were clearing out classrooms,” Natalie offered, “I can show you?”

“Now.”

“Right, yes, now,” Natalie stammered as she turned to briskly walk down the hallway with Danielle and Trevor hot on her heels and Erin trailing behind with a worried look on her face. Erin seemed to be the first person to notice the elephant in the room, Danielle could tell by the look on her face and her constant looking around the group. 

Danielle locked on to the sound of Mohit’s laughing and charged ahead of Natalie into the room. Trevor yelped as she whipped him around the corner into the doorway. Mohit jumped back from the box he was going through when Danielle barges in. Ajay looked up and frowned at the hostile look in Danielle’s eyes.

“What’s going on?”

“Ask Trevor.”

Ajay’s glare moved to Trevor. Trevor pulled himself from Danielle’s grip as Erin and Natalie stood at the doorway. Without a way to dodge the question he turned to Ajay and took a breath.

“We got ambushed, I got me and Danielle out of there, but Skye and Bailey weren’t fast enough.”

The way Trevor said it, as if it was no big deal. How easily he was able to brush it off had Ajay’s blood boiling. Trevor didn’t even look ashamed of it. 

“You left them.”

It wasn’t a question.

“I’m not getting myself killed playing hero. I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“The big deal is that you left two seventeen year olds on a mission that you demanded I approve. You left them after promising me that you’d all be back before sundown.”

Trevor did the worst thing he could have possibly done. He shrugged.

Danielle almost smirked at the familiar rage in Ajay’s eyes.

“Get out.”

“What?” Trevor’s nonchalant demeanor was gone in an instant. “You’re kicking me out?”

“You wanted to go on this mission, you are responsible for everyone on your team. You are not welcome here until we get Skye and Bailey back.”

Trevor looked at Ajay like he’d lost his mind, but only saw deadly calm in his eyes.

“Erin, feel like coming on a rescue mission?”

“Absolutely.”

“Danielle?”

“I just need to grab a few more clips.”

“You are going to take us exactly to where you lost them,” Ajay said slowly to Trevor, “and we’re not coming back until we find them.”

“Dude we’re talking about heavily armed survivors. How do you suggest we get past them and then back out?”

“...I might know someone who could help.” The group whipped their heads to the door where a familiar brunette stood giving a little wave. “Sorry, you left the door open and we let ourselves in.”

“You left the  _ door open? _ ” Ajay started, but everyone ignored him.

“Sydney?” Natalie smiled and ran over to hug the familiar upperclassman, “oh my god, it’s so good to see you.”

“You said you might know about the people who have Skye and Bailey?”

“I know a lot actually,” a blonde with a gigawatt smile offered as she entered the room behind her companion, “and I’m coming with you on this rescue mission.”

“Mia, Sydney,” Ajay said, a semblance of a smile crossing his face. “It’s good to see familiar faces.”

“Yeah, where have you been all this time?” Natalie asked, releasing Sydney to hug Mia.

“Delta at first, and then all over,” Mia said. “We heard you on the radio a few days ago.”

“What’s Delta?” Erin asked, confused.

Mia started to explain, but Trevor got there first.

“They took Skye and Bailey,” he said. “They said they were a military group? They all have dragonfly tattoos, and they said Skye was one of them.”

“She was,” Mia confirmed, “And so was I.” She brushed her hair back from her neck to expose the dragonfly tattoo, the same one that Skye had. 

“Do you know where they took Skye and Bailey?” Ajay asked.

“If I had to guess, probably back to their base at the Port of Alsea.”

“Do you think they’ll be hurt?”

“Probably,” Mia answered somberly. "If Skye’s the same person I used to know, there’s no way they got her without a fight.”

Ajay cursed. “Alright. Here’s the plan. Trevor, Danielle, Erin, Grace and I are going on the rescue mission. Mia and Sydney will come with us. Natalie, Clint, Graham, Casey, Rory and Mo are gonna stay here and keep things running.”

“What’s Casey supposed to do if Grace isn’t here?”

“I thought he was doing better, right? Natalie, can you handle taking care of him?”

“Of course,” Natalie answered. “I’d rather be here than dealing with blood anyways.”

“Ok, good. Erin, can you go grab Grace, and Natalie, can you grab Clint and Graham? I just want to make sure everyone’s briefed.”

The two girls nodded and set off, and Ajay turned to Mohit, who was pouting.

“You always leave me here,” he said. “I never get to do anything useful.”

“Mo…,” Ajay started, searching for the words he needed. “Mo, I’m counting on you to run this place while I’m gone, okay? Nobody knows more about this school than you. And if you came along, I’d be too distracted trying to protect you and I wouldn’t be able to help the group, okay?”

“Okay,” Mohit said, but he still clearly wasn’t happy. Ajay wrapped the boy into a hug.

“I’ll be safe, I promise. And it’s up to you to keep everyone that stays here safe. Plus, someone needs to remember to feed Jasper.”

“So I get to be the leader while you’re gone?”

“Yeah, of course,” Ajay said. “You can even go sit in the principal’s office if you want.”

A big smile spread across the boy’s face, and he ran off to exercise his new powers. Jasper hurried at his heels while Ajay grinned after them. 

After a few more moments, the entire group was in the small classroom. Ajay filled everyone in on what had happened– glares in Trevor’s direction weren’t uncommon among the group. Jobs were handed out, and after a few minutes of rushing back and forth to grab supplies, the rescue mission team was outside near the ambulance.

Trevor made to open the door to the driver’s side of the ambulance, but Grace laughed and pushed past him to climb into the seat herself. 

“You really think I’m gonna let you drive this again? Get in on the other side, and tell me which way to drive.”

“Good thinking,” Danielle muttered, and everyone else piled into the back as Grace started the engine. 

“Skye, Bailey…” Erin started as the ambulance began to move, “we’re coming for you.”

***

Rory watched as the ambulance pulled away from the school from the window of their room. They let out a sigh, relieved that they had left for awhile. When they were here, they were always so concerned about them. But they were okay. Everything was okay.

“I’m sorry about that Mom,” Rory turned to see their mother sitting on the bed, “It’s just hard to talk to you when they’re around.”

“It’s okay dear, I understand your friends are under a lot of stress.”

Rory smiled as they sat next to their mother, occasionally glancing back at the window.

“I hope Bailey’s okay.”

“Don’t worry dear, everything will be okay.”


	7. Suffer The Children

It hurt.

Skye tried to focus on something, anything, else besides the burning in her leg. Of course, Delta had a medic on hand at the farm just in case any new recruits got hurt during their ambush. Skye remembered the medic from back when she was a member. She couldn’t really remember his name though. Sounded like Laundry, but not quite.

It didn’t matter. She and Bailey were currently locked up in one of the carriages pulled by Delta’s war horses back to the main base on Port of Alsea. Her wrists were tied tightly together, cutting into her skin and causing lazy trails of blood to drip down her forearms. 

They were tied to opposite sides of the cart, jostled roughly with each rough motion of the carriage. It had started to make Skye motion sick. The blood loss and pain from the makeshift bullet removal only added to the nausea. They had been in the wooden cart for at least two hours now. Skye wished she could black out, at least then maybe the pain would subside for a while.

Until they got to base.

There were special punishments for traitors on the main base, and Brian would make sure she suffered. The tight bindings on her wrist were just a warm up. When the higher up officers found out they caught a traitor, it was going to be a whole new world of pain.

Skye glanced over to Bailey, who had stopped cursing twenty minutes ago. She couldn’t get the ropes untied. Figures. Skye knew there wasn’t going to be an easy way out. She caught Bailey’s eye, the other girl looked at her worriedly.

“How’s your leg?”

“...hurts.”

It was all Skye could manage. She was tired. She was terrified. She needed to figure out a way of getting Bailey out of here: if she didn’t, Bailey could get hurt. Or worse.

And it would all be her fault.

Skye tried to move her leg, trying to see if there’s any way she could move. Her knee rejected the motion, shooting a burning pain up her leg and refusing to bend fully.

“Don’t try to move,” Bailey quickly called over, “you’ll make it worse.”

_ It’ll only get worse, _ she thought. _ Once we get to the base, things will get so much worse. _

“Hey,” Bailey’s voice went soft, and when Skye looked over she saw the soft smile that graced her face. “We’re going to find a way out of here, I promise.”

It shouldn’t have been possible for a sentence to calm her down and fill her with dread at the same time.

***

The tension in the small back of the ambulance could be cut with a knife. It didn’t help that they were currently stuck on the side of the road while Trevor tried to find stray cars that still had some gas in their tanks. Ajay paced back and forth with an annoyed expression on his face. Mia hadn’t been faring much better. She stood perfectly still glaring in Trevor’s direction as he scurried between the cars in a nearby parking lot.

“We’re wasting time.” Ajay grumbled as he paced, “We need to get going or we might not get to them in time.”

Trevor came around the side and banged on the window for Grace to hit the switch to open the gas cap on the ambulance so he could fill it up. 

“So, Mia, how did you meet Skye?” Danielle asked awkwardly trying to cut the tension before someone snapped.

Mia seemed to soften at the question,

“We met in Delta actually. My brother and I were recruited before Skye and her brother. I was assigned to train her when she got to base. She was my responsibility for a while. I guess I never really gave that up as time went on.”

Mia shrugged for a second as they listened to Trevor curse as he tried to fill the tank as quickly as possible.

“Delta recruits children by kidnapping them and forcing them into their ranks. At the beginning of the outbreak, Delta was well supplied with food and running water. It was so easy for them to convince kids to stay. After a few weeks any kid would give anything for a hot meal and a shower. We all fell into that. But things got rough as the outbreak went on. Delta started getting into trouble with surrounding settlements. Eventually the Port of Alsea base found themselves in a civil war with another Delta base. It got so bad one night Delta sent a bunch of us in at night to essentially slaughter the entire base. That’s the night Skye and I ran away, during the chaos of the fight we stole a boat and coasted along the shoreline for a bit.”

“How did you two get separated?”

“We were ambushed by some bandits. We were tired from running and we kinda scattered to get away. When the smoke cleared I couldn’t find Skye. We had agreed to travel down to Cedar Cove since we're both originally from there. I met up with Sydney and we've been traveling around since. Honestly I had given up hope of her turning up. Until we saw the fireworks at Delta's farm."

"We had been staking it out for supplies. When Delta showed up Mia wanted to keep a close eye on them," Sydney added, "they must have been trying to recruit more people."

"If they came all the way down here, they have to be getting desperate, that's the only reason they won't kill Skye or Bailey right away," Mia glanced down at the dirt, "even if Skye's a traitor, she's still an able body, they'll try to break her to get her to cooperate with them again. They'll do the same to Bailey."

"Not to interrupt, but we're good to go on gas," Trevor called over as he regrouped with the rest of the rescue party. Ajay only nodded as every loaded back into the ambulance.

"What happened to your brother? Max right?" Ajay asked.

"He's still a member of Delta."

"And Skye's?"

"...Her brother hasn't changed much since we knew him at Berry. He's just gotten so much more homicidal."

"Berry?"

"You didn't see the resemblance? Skye's brother is Brian Crandall. You remember what he was like without walkers running around. Imagine what he could be like now and I guarantee you he's five times worse."

"No offense, but haven’t all of you Delta troops killed people? What makes him so much worse?"

Everyone was too tired to really glare at Trevor. Mia looked him dead in the eye.

"Brian enjoys it."

***

The carriage came to a rough stop. Skye heard the familiar noises of gates as she looked over at Bailey. The other girl sat completely still as the back door of the cart was opened. Brian stepped on first a hauntingly sinister smirk on his lips.

“Time for your trial, sis.” 

Brian yanked her up by the arm, her knee protested the movement as Jade walked up to untie one of the ends of the rope holding her wrists together. 

“Don’t touch her!”

Bailey’s voice rang out a second before Max backhanded her. She quieted down and Skye felt red hot rage consume her.

“Haven’t seen that glare in a while,” Brian taunted as he pushed her off the carriage, her weak knee causing her to fall face first into the gravel, “Hope that means you still have some fight in you. That’ll make this so much more fun.”

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be,” Jade warned as she pulled Skye back up to her feet.

“Or your little girlfriend here will be the first to die,” Max chuckled as he yanked Bailey out of the carriage and started dragging her in the opposite direction Brian had started pushing Skye, “Enjoy the trial.”

Skye felt immediate panic as she and Bailey were separated. She was pushed through the heavy doorway into one of the old warehouses. The designated “trial” location. Skye had only been in there once before and the memory haunted her nightmares. The warehouse was dark, a few scarce lights lit the small area up with a dull glow. Dark remnants of blood stained the floors and walls. Evidence of how a “trial” in the Delta camp went. Any trial was a full on brawl. A one-on-one fight between the accuser and the accused. The fight only ended when one gave up or stopped breathing. The accused would be presumed innocent if they won, and guilty if they lost. 

There were special cases of course, where the accuser was allowed to beat the accused to death. It was all the choice of the leading commander of the camp. A woman of pure evil. She stood on the opposite end of the warehouse as Skye was pushed towards the center of the room. 

“Miss. Crandall, what an honor to see you decided to come back,” Ashley Faris, the commander of the Port of Alsea Delta base said, “seeing as you left us in less than ideal circumstances, I’m afraid I have to put you on trial for your crimes. Skye Crandall, you are on trial for treason, theft, and the murder of Mia Warren.”

Skye’s heart dropped. Mia was dead? She couldn’t believe it. Mia, who had helped her out when she’d needed it the most. Who had been like the older sibling she’d wished she’d had. Who was the reason Skye had held on all these years, had kept going, just hoping to see her again.

She was gone? And Faris thought it was Skye’s doing. Skye couldn’t even summon up the words to defend herself. She was too numb, too cold inside. Something deep within her started to crumble, wanting to collapse. She forced herself to keep it together, though; the punishment would only be worse if she cried. 

Faris had a strange creepy smile on her face. One that Skye had only seen a handful of times, and one that she knew meant things could only end badly.

“I was going to have your trial here, but as it seems we have some new unruly recruits that need to be taught what happens when you go against Delta. Your trial will be held for all to view, in the pit.”

Brian let out a chuckle as he shoved her forward. Faris nodded to two more soldiers that opened the opposing door that led out to the infamous pit. The bloodiest brawls were held there for the entertainment of the Delta soldiers. It was a symbol of blood-sport. As soon as Brian shoved her through the door to the outside, the arena came into full view.

The pit itself was six feet deep, symbolic of what usually happened there, surrounded by a short fence save for the two ends, the gravel that lined the bottom was stained in dark red blood from previous fights. There were lines of fresh-faced recruits that looked on as Skye was pushed down the wooden ramp to the bottom, it creaked and screamed with her weight before the unholy crunch of gravel sounded against her boots. Two soldiers pulled the wood ramp up as soon as she and Brian stood at the center. Faris looked down at both of them.

“Murder, treason, theft, these are all very serious crimes,” Faris smiled sickeningly at the new recruits who looked on in horror. Skye couldn’t make out their faces at the angle she stood. “This is your punishment. Defend your crimes, or die here. Of course, we prefer this be educational to our new recruits.”

Skye watched as Faris threw down her backpack. It made a thump against the gravel, her axe attached to the side.

“No rules, no time limits, just blood. Brian will be representing Delta in this fight. I do hope for your sake that your crimes are worth your brother’s life. Otherwise,” Faris shrugged, “this is where you die.”

Brian yanked her closer for a second, using a knife to roughly cut away at her bindings before throwing his foot into her torso, knocking her back several feet into the gravel.

“I’m going to enjoy this.”

Brian cracked his knuckles as several of his brothers and sisters in arms cheered. Skye pushed herself upright as Brian drew a knife from his belt. His grin is menical as he stepped closer. He was clearly not in a hurry, content to let the fight draw out. Skye hesitated for a moment before pushing herself upright, her leg rejecting the motion. Even if the bullet was removed, the wound was still fresh, the pain burning her leg making it clear she was more limited than her opponent.

Her bag was her only hope. The ratty old thing rested on the opposite side of the ring, and Brian stood confidently between her and it. 

Her mind was swimming. The haze caused her to misjudge Brian’s next attack as he charged at her, knife swinging. The blade bit into her forearm, tearing at her skin as warm blood ran down her arm. Brian wasn’t holding back. He was going to kill her. The idea hit her hard as Brian came at her again. If she died here, Bailey would be at the mercy of Delta. They would hurt her the way they had hurt Skye so many years ago. There wouldn’t be a Mia to save her like there was for Skye…

The visual of Mia’s face flashed through Skye’s mind. She was dead.

Brian’s fist connected with her jaw, the wild shot tossing her back into the wall of the pit.

“Are you going to do something?” Brian asked, his tone clearly annoyed, “Or are you going to just sit here and die like some useless dog.”

When Brian came at her a third time, Skye pivoted on her foot, grabbing his arm and throwing his weight into the wall. With a twist of his wrist the knife fell to the ground.

“Stop, I don’t want to fight you.”

“Too fucking bad. You think you can leave me behind like they did and have me forgive you? Bullshit.”

It took a second for Skye to process those words. Another for her to realize that there was truth behind them.

Brian spun against Skye’s hold, elbowing her in the jaw to send her backwards. His green eyes locked with Skye’s for a second, and Skye could see the resentment and anger that flooded them. A new wave of guilt washed over her. She had left. Just like their parents had done at the very beginning of the outbreak. Brian… had every right to be angry with her. To want to kill her. He was right.

Brian didn’t charge at her again. Instead, he balled his fists and snarled, watching her as she tried to step closer to her bag. 

“I’m going to bury you.”

The coldness in his voice revealed how true his words were. Skye shifted her stance, ready for his charge. When it came the gravel under his feet flew back, his punches became more wild. Skye ducked the first hit, trying to move out of his range. Her knee wasn’t on the same page as her head as it caused her to move too slowly. Brian’s second strike connected with her ribcage, knocking the wind out of her lungs. His hand wrapped around the front of her shirt, keeping her from falling too far away from him as his fist struck her jaw again. The taste of blood invaded her mouth as he pulled his arm back again. 

Then he seemed to think of something. Without warning his hand released her shirt and she fell to the ground. The gravel biting her palms as she tried to catch herself. Skye looked up to see Brian walk over to her bag, pulling the axe from its place and smirking. 

“Mia gave you this, right?”

Skye looked on without an answer. The older girl had given it to her, something from a raid she and Mia had done of an abandoned warehouse. Mia had taught her how to use it. It had become a staple of Skye’s survival. A little connection to the girl who saved Skye's life countless times with a smile on her face in the otherwise hellish camp they had ended up in. 

“What a waste.”

Brian walked back over, the blade of the axe pushing through gravel as he dragged across the ground. Skye pushed herself back to her feet, which only seemed to make Brian move faster, a determined look in his eye as he threw the blade towards her. She tried to pivot out of the way, only for the blade to slash across her torso just above her hip as she skitted away. Brian growled and threw the weapon at her again. 

He wasn’t used to it. Skye could tell by how his swings were off. He didn’t know his range with her weapon. He just wanted to kill Skye with something Mia had gifted to her. A strange poetic way to kill her for someone who would have failed all his english classes in high school had he not had someone do his work for him. The longer the fight lasted, the more frustrated he was sure to become. Skye could tell by the way he roared with every throw of the weapon. Rage always ate away at him, always made him become even more unpredictable.

He threw the weapon at her, it missed her head by a foot and it buried itself in the dirt wall behind her. Brian kicked up gravel, sending a cloud of dust and pebbles her way in frustration.

His weight slammed into her a second later, knocking her onto her back.

“Will you just die already!”

He yanked her up by the fabric around her shoulders and slammed her back into the ground. The force dazed her as the back of her head hit the ground. 

“Patience,” Faris called from her perch. “How are the new recruits supposed to learn if the death is quick? Quick death is a mercy, not a punishment.”

Brian let out a string of curses as his weight moved off Skye. Skye coughed, breathing in the loose dust as she tried to get back up. She was cut off by Brian’s boot slamming into her side, knocking her back onto her back.

“I want this pit filled with blood, to make sure our recruits understand the position they’re in.”

Brian grumbled and thought for a moment before his foot dug into the bandage above Skye’s knee, sending a shockwave of pain through her body as his heel dug into the wound from the bullet. The scream that ripped itself from Skye’s throat tore against her vocal cords leaving them raw before Brian’s boot hit her side, cutting off the scream as she choked against the pressure, spitting up a mix of spit and blood against the gravel.

“Much better.”

Faris’s voice again, sounding farther away as black dots coated Skye’s vision. She needed to get away. She tried pulling herself away, the small rocks cutting into her forearms as she tried to move. The cut from Brian’s blade earlier stung as rocks dug into it. She felt Brian step against her shoulder blades, pushing her into the gravel as it cut into her chin and side of her face. Next came the metallic click.

“ _ Skye! _ ”

The voice sounded so far away. The darkness threatened to take her, an eerie promise that her pain would stop if she followed. She can see the opening of the gate from her spot on the dirt. A flash of blonde rushes to it, throwing themselves into the pit.

…  _ Mia? _

It felt silly to think a dead person would come to her rescue. Her vision blurred as the blonde’s hair looked gold against the setting streak of sunlight as she rushed closer. Suddenly the weight is off Skye’s shoulder, next the faded pop and gravel next to her head kicked up, blinding her for a moment as she tried not to submit to the darkness. If she gave up, she wouldn’t have to do this anymore. The pain would be gone. Why hadn’t Brian killed her yet?

The answer came in the form of a shriek that pierced through her subconscious. 

_ Bailey. _

Skye’s eyes opened and she forced herself to turn in the direction of the scream. Bright golden hair was stained with blood, the side of the other girl’s face bloody as Brian slammed her head into the gravel ground, yelling curses as he pulled her head up by the hair and slammed her down into the ground again.

He was bleeding. A deep cut on his shoulder dripped down his arm. A familiar hunting knife rested on the ground.

_ He’s going to kill Bailey. _ The thought pumped adrenaline through Skye’s body as she pushed herself up against the pain and grabbed the scattered knife. She pulled her arm back as she staggered forward before plunging the knife forward with all the strength remaining in her body. It made a sickening wet noise as it purged into the skin in the crook of Brian’s neck. Brian released Bailey and turned to Skye, grabbing her arm as the momentum knocked him over. 

His back hit the gravel as he coughed and choked for air. He grabbed Skye’s wrist roughly and yanked the blade from his neck, causing a spray of blood to fall like rain against the ground. Panic hit Skye hard as her hand reached out to cover the wound, blood spraying against her clothes and her hands. Thick red liquid leaving her brother's body at a rapid pace. His grip on her arm got tighter as he gasped for breath.

“I…. hate you.”

He choked out is a strangled whisper before the light faded from his eyes. The blood seeped more lazily through Skye’s fingers when she leaned away from him and on her knees next to him. Her injured knee screamed at the new position, but her focus was on Brian. His breathing stopped, all the life gone from his eyes. His skin took on a blue undertone and Skye shakily pulled her hands away. Her brother’s blood staining her hands and forearms.

All the adrenaline washed out of Skye’s body, the knife falling to the gravel with barely any sound. She was ready for the world to go black, more than willing to die alongside her brother. After all, how many lives had she taken, too? How was she any better than he was?

That's why Jade hated her now wasn't it? Because Skye had killed her friend after he was bitten during a raid. Walkers were hoarding around them when the boy was bit. Jade had tried to help him, and Skye reacted. She shot him before Jade could get to him, before Jade suffered a similar fate. When they got back to camp, Jade requested a trip against Skye. The only time Skye stood in the trial warehouse as Jade beat her up yelling about how she was a murderer.

Mia told her it wasn't true. Mia found her bleeding and broken and comforted her as she tried to understand Jade's rage. She deserved Jade's anger then and she deserved Brian's anger now.

People were clearing away from the pit and Skye couldn't help but wonder if Jade had come to watch her die.

As her vision started to fade, she heard a sob from something not far away. It couldn’t be Brian, he was to her left and still unmoving. Using all of her strength, Skye rolled her head over to catch another glimpse of blonde stained with red-- Bailey, pulling herself slowly and silently toward Skye, blood running down the left side of her face and staining her hair.

“Skye?” Bailey whispered, her voice sounding weak. She fumbled for Skye’s hand, both of them soaked in blood, whether it was their own or each other’s. 

“Skye!” she whispered again, more insistent. “We have to go. He might turn.”

Skye tried to squeeze Bailey’s hand, but the motion barely registered in her muscles. Her body was screaming in pain, and if it weren’t for Bailey she’d have just laid there and fallen into the darkness right alongside Brian.

But Bailey was there, and Bailey needed her, so Skye knew that she was going to have to find a way to hold on.

But…

Part of her remained fixed in her spot, the part of her that wasn’t affected by the exhaustion insisted on her staying put. This was her fault. If she hadn’t left Brian the first time, couldn’t she have made a change that would have kept him alive? Instead she had been the one to drive the knife into his neck. This was her fault. Brian was dead because of her. She had made him this angry by leaving, she left him for Delta to morph and mold as they pleased.

“Skye,” Bailey’s voice was weaker. 

“Bailey,” Skye tried to move her hand, trying to hold on tighter to Bailey’s warmth as the darkness threatened to take over. Her head conflicted for a few more moments.

Bailey had to be her focus. She needed to find a way to save her. She needed to do  _ something  _ right.

***

“Park here,” Mia instructed as they pulled up closer to the compound. “Okay, only a few of us should go in, that way we don’t get the attention of the guards.”

“I’m going with you,” Ajay announced. Mia opened the back of the ambulance. 

“Great, here,” Mia reached into her bag and handed Ajay a handgun. “Silencer, I stole it from Delta, just in case.”

“What are you gonna do?” Danielle asked as she set up her rifle just in case they needed cover running back to the ambulance.

“Knock heads together, starting with the first person we see. We need to find out where they have Bailey and Skye.”

Mia hops off the ambulance with Ajay behind her.

“If we’re not back in an hour, get out of here.” Ajay ordered over his shoulder as he followed Mia through the brush towards the compound. Mia moved through the brush, the entire area familiar from so many years being prisoner to the Delta. It was nearly nighttime, meaning most of the guards were closer inward with only a few guards on the outer perimeter. 

Mia led them between a few old storage sheds, shielded from the main living areas where there were more guards. There were less guards where there were less supplies, the storage unit hadn’t been used for years from what Mia could remember. 

However, there should be a few soldiers patrolling the outskirts; they just needed to wait for one unfortunate soul to come close. They headed more into the compound, skirting close to the outer ridge to keep from being detected. Mia leaned against the wall of the large metal unit when she heard the sound of footsteps.

Perfect.

Mia waited patiently as the person drew closer, the metal clack of boots against the tattered concrete ground drew closer until they were just around the corner. The soldier turned to go down a different path when Mia moved quickly, securing her arm around the person’s neck to trap them in a rear neck choke.

“Scream and you die,” she muttered to their new hostage. She immediately recognized the girl she grabbed, Jade. A former Hearst student who had chosen to stay behind when she and Skye left. “Where’s Skye and Bailey?”

Jade seemed to recognize her voice, the girl visibly tensed. For good reason, after her and Skye’s fall out there was no question that Mia wouldn’t go easy on the younger girl. 

“... Pit.”

Mia kept her hold until the girl went limp, unconscious before easing her to the ground. She cursed under her breath as she looked over at Ajay.

“What’s the pit?” he asked.

“It’s not good,” Mia shook her head. “We need to move.”

Mia led the way, she remembered the pit all too well. Too many times Max insisted on watching the barbaric fights that were held within the dirty walls. He and Brian were more into the bloodsport, betting on winners and even offering to fight in the pit for the amusement of the other soldiers. Usually they would win, their ruthlessness unmatched by any prisoner Delta threw in with them.

Mia’s legs moved on autopilot as she directed Ajay towards the dreaded deathtrap. In the low light she could make out the hauntingly rusted chain link that surrounded the pit. She lowered the old wooden ramp and dashed down, seeing the three figures near motionless in the gravel. 

“Skye,” Mia let out a relieved sigh as she knelt down by the younger girl. 

She was covered in blood. Her body moved limply when Mia pulled her closer and looked over the cuts and bruising on her face and arms. Blue eyes were unfocused, not really seeing Mia as she drew closer. 

“Hey, Skye,” Mia called softer, reaching up to rest a hand on the back of the younger girl’s head. She watched Skye blink dully as if trying to make Mia come to focus. Ajay knelt by Bailey, seeing the young blonde covered in her own blood. 

“Can you two stand?” Ajay asked, though by his tone Mia knew the possibility of that was unlikely. 

“I... We can try.” Bailey’s words were weak. While Mia appreciated the other girl’s moxie, there was no way either one of them was going to be walking out of there. 

“Skye,” Bailey’s voice called out. She tugged at Skye’s sleeve. “We have to go.”

Bailey’s voice seemed to cut through the fog. Skye blinked and her eyes settled on Mia for the first time. 

“... Mia?”

Mia smiled brightly. 

“Hey, long time no see.”

Whatever dam, whatever walls that had been built up seemed to crumple in that instant. Barely constrained tears rush down the younger girl’s face. The pain that lived in those eyes came to the surface. Bailey hand fumbled against Skye’s hand, trying to provide comfort even though the other girl was just as weak. 

The mood was broken by a very familiar groan. Mia looked over Skye’s shoulder to see the cause of Skye’s pain laying in his own blood a few feet away. The drag marks in the gravel were clear evidence that the two girls had tried to move away. Brian’s skin had morphed to cling to his bones, his eyes sunken in and lifeless as a groan left decaying lips.

Ajay moved and Mia knew what was coming next. She pulled Skye closer until the girl’s face was buried in her shoulder, shielded from the sight as Ajay pulled the trigger. 

The silencer muffled the noise of the gunshot, but it still made Skye jump. The younger girl’s body shook hard before a weak sob tried to draw itself out of her sore throat. Skye’s weak body slumped against her, completely powerless to do anything else. Ajay looked over, his expression softening before he knelt back into the gravel, reaching out and laying a hand on Skye’s shoulder.

“Let’s go home now, okay?”

Skye barely moved to peek at him over Mia’s shoulder. Her eyes lacked any light as she gave the faintest indication of a nod. 

“Can you carry her?” Ajay asked as he eyed the dead corpse one last time. “I can help Bailey.”

“No problem, I got her.”

Ajay nodded before turning to Bailey. The girl was sitting up but it was clear she was in just as bad of shape as Skye, or at least the wound on her head was causing her to fade in and out. They both would have to be carried. Ajay picked up Bailey as Mia took Skye. They moved rather slowly back up the ramp, trying not to jostle the two injured teens.

“Still with me Bailey?” Ajay whispered as they moved quietly back towards the outskirts of the compound.

“Yeah, I’m here.” Bailey offered weakly, “Sorry I’m bleeding on you.”

“Don’t worry about it, let’s just get you and Skye back home. Grace will help you two feel better.”

“Sydney has some medical training too, I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to lend a hand.” added Mia.

Ajay nodded as the ambulance came into sight. Danielle waved that they were clear as she looked down her scope from the roof of the ambulance. Sydney and Grace moved to the open back, ready to help if needed. Mia’s pace picked up as they hurried to the vehicle.

“I can drive,” Ajay offered as Sydney helped Mia move Skye into the ambulance, the girl having completely lost consciousness in the time it took them to get back. Bailey was barely holding on as Erin took Bailey from him. “The rest of you do whatever Grace says to keep these two alive.”

“Grace,” Ajay started after a moment of hesitation, “I’m counting on you.”

Without waiting for a reply, Ajay rushed to the driver’s seat. Danielle jumped down and into the back, closing the doors behind her before Ajay sped away from the nightmare complex. 

***

The drive back to base was long, and before long Ajay had to stop the vehicle so that Trevor could go steal more gas from abandoned cars on the highway. After he’d opened the latch, he climbed down from the driver’s seat and made his way around the back of the vehicle.

A quiet but tense scene greeted him inside. Grace sat against the wall with an air pump held loosely in her hand, her face red and sweaty from exertion. She made eye contact with Ajay and nodded, raising the pump slightly in greeting. Sydney worked on Bailey, who was conscious and clearly in a lot of pain, covering what seemed like the entire left side of her face with bandages. As Bailey seemed slightly better off, Ajay knelt over Skye instead, who was pale and extremely still, her feet lifted about a foot off the ground by a stool and Grace’s wadded up EMT jacket. Skye was covered in bandages, some in dire need of changing.

“Her breathing keeps stopping,” Grace explained in a quiet voice, sitting down heavily next to Ajay, “And her pulse was getting weaker. I think it’s from blood loss, but I can’t really do anything. We don’t have equipment for a blood transfusion so I just set her IV up with saline solution and… god, I hope it’s enough. She’s more stable now, though, she’s breathing even though it’s shallow. I’m just worried about internal bleeding. There’s nothing I can really do if…” She trailed off.

Ajay turned to look at Grace and saw the stress in her eyes, the exhaustion on every part of her face. 

“You did good, Grace.” he said, even though he had no idea if it was true. He thought it was; Grace wasn’t prone to stressing out easily so this amount of stress must have meant she was doing everything possible. After a moment of hesitation, Ajay pulled her into a hug.

Grace tensed up for a second, but then relaxed into the hug, pressing her face into the soft fabric of his shirt. He rubbed her back gently and she let out a shaky breath, then pulled away. After everything that had happened between them, it was good to know that she still trusted him. That she was still comfortable showing vulnerability around him, even though she had to be strong for everyone else. He wanted to take care of her like she took care of everyone, but he knew that wasn’t his job. He was supposed to get them home, and he couldn’t do that effectively if he was worried about Grace’s mental state.

Ajay snapped himself out of those thoughts as Grace moved to start changing Skye’s bandages and scooted over to where Sydney was still cleaning dried blood out of Bailey’s hair. The girl seemed to have fallen asleep.

“I gave her painkillers and a sedative, she’s stable and I think she’ll be fine,” she explained. “Her eye is just… in really bad shape. She’ll most likely lose vision in it.”

Ajay cursed under his breath. Sydney shook her head. “She’ll be fine, Ajay. We’ll just watch it. I’m more worried about their emotional state than anything else.”

Just then, Trevor appeared at the door. “Gas is full,” he said. He caught a glimpse of Skye and Bailey, and whistled low. “Damn, they got messed up.”

Twenty nasty, terrible words came to Ajay’s lips, but he suppressed them. He wanted to curse the boy out, to drag him away from the van and leave him in a ditch somewhere. Mia seemed to think the same thing, and had far less restraint than Ajay had in the matter.

"Walk away." Mia's voice was a clear warning and Trevor raised his hands a second before scurrying off to the front.

Ajay swallowed his frustration as he moved back towards the driver's seat. As the back door closed Grace went back to work changing Skye's bandages, watching closely in case her breathing stopped again.

"Thank you, Grace," Mia offered suddenly, "I know we're not out of the woods yet, but thank you for helping Skye."

Grace ducked her head. “No need to thank me,” she said. “It’s my job.”

“Your job,” said Sydney, mulling this over. “You do this stuff like it’s natural. What did you do before?”

“I was a trained EMT,” Grace explained, gesturing to the jacket that padded Skye’s elevated feet. The reflective letters were barely visible on the jacket, parts of some of them chipped away.

“Shit, you must be older than I thought,” Mia said, but Grace shook her head. 

“I was 16 when the outbreak started.”

“They let people train that young?” asked Sydney.

“Yeah. Plus I knew the lady that supervised the program. I didn’t have anything to do over the summer and she was willing to train me for free, so I decided why not? I wanted to be a nurse before all this happened. It was a logical first step.”

“That’s lucky,” Mia said. 

“Mmhm. During the two years or so of the outbreak, I went to the hospital where I was training and my supervisor agreed to finish my training. Then some of the nurses that were trapped there too taught me everything else I know. There were a bunch of us, mostly healthcare workers and patients, all camped out at the hospital.”

“So why’d you leave?” Sydney asked.

“Too much infighting. Too much death. Too messy. There was a pretty rigid leadership set up there, and I don’t know the specifics very well but some of the workers wanted to start a mutiny. My supervisor…, um,” Grace hesitated. She took a breath, and then kept talking. “She helped me get out. I stole this ambulance, and, um… here I am.”

“Cool,” Mia said. “So you’ve been at Berry ever since?”

“Yup. My ambulance ran out of gas right outside of the front doors. It was like fate. Although, I still think Ajay would’ve shot me on sight if I hadn’t been medically trained.” She laughed, remembering her first meeting with Ajay, how he’d pointed the gun at her and then hadn’t really stopped for about two months.

“Sounds like him,” Mia laughed. “You two seem close now, though.”

“Ah, we helped each other out of a few tricky situations,” Grace said carefully, leaving the details vague. As willing as she was to divulge her entire past to the two girls, she didn’t think Ajay would want any of his dirty laundry aired in front of the group. 

“So anyways, Sydney, how did you manage to reunite with Mia?” she asked, wanting to change the subject.

“Oh, well, I guess some things are just meant to be,” Sydney joked, grinning softly at Mia. Mia’s smile matched Sydney’s, and they shared a knowing look.

_ Oh, _ Grace thought.  _ So they’re a couple. _ “How long have you been together?” she asked.

“A year before the outbreak,” Mia said. “Then we got separated when my brother and I were taken by Delta. I didn’t think I’d ever see her again, but when Skye and I were separated after our escape I somehow got back to Cedar Cove. Sydney lived on the outskirts, so the rest was history.”

“I don’t know what I’d do without her,” Sydney added, reaching over to take Mia’s hand.

Watching them smile at each other sent a pang through Grace’s chest. Sydney and Mia had something special, it was clear. And they were both stronger for it, not weaker. She wanted that.

***

Ajay parked the ambulance and cut the ignition. He'd been stewing in anger the last few hours and something about Trevor just hopping out and heading inside the school without offering to help hit him.

"Where are you going?" Ajay demanded, stopping Trevor in his tracks.

"Inside? The mission's over."

"We're not done," Ajay pressed, "I need to know that this isn't going to happen again. We're a team, we need to work together to survive."

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but people die all the time. Wasn’t it more risky for you to put together that team to save them than me leaving them in the first place? It’s not like either one of them is exceptionally useful anyway. We have Graham for tech, you have me for tech, I’m not even sure what Bailey-”

“You don’t get to decide their worth,” Ajay growled. “They are part of our group now. We need to be able to rely on each other to survive. I can’t have you cutting people off because you don’t see their worth.”

“Look man, I know you mean well, but maybe you’re not cut out for this. I’ve seen groups fall apart quicker then a walker turns. This entire mission was pointless, we would have been better off if we just left them there. Now Grace has to waste all those supplies to keep them both alive.”

“Grace wouldn’t need to use supplies if you didn’t leave them there to begin with!” Ajay yelled as Trevor held his ground, “You left them there, you started this, you’re the one who was so worried about Skye and Bailey being ‘murderers’ but you’re the one that would have killed them without a second thought!”

“There’s a difference between killing someone and not sticking your neck out for someone!”

“No there isn’t! Not when you  _ know _ you’re leaving someone to die.”

“So what?” Trevor yelled back, “You want all of us to die for each other? You think that will make us a strong group? You think that will make you a good leader?”

“Do you think losing your humanity makes you a good survivor?” 

“Both of you, cut the crap!” Danielle yelled as Erin, Grace, Mia, and Sydney worked to transfer the two injured members of their party to the nurse office. “You think your stupid shouting is helping either one of them now?”

The two glared at each other for a moment before Trevor turned and stomped through the side door leading to the science hallway. Ajay brushed past everyone else, making a beeline for the principal’s office. He ignored Clint and Natalie as he passed them, their voices dull in his head as the anger settled more and more within his skull. They were concerned, but a part of him was too angry to really care. 

He shoved the door open and grabbed the jar of moonshine he had confiscated from Trevor after the alcohol rule was put into place.  _ This was a bad idea _ . The thought was a whisper as Ajay shoved the jar into his bag and made a beeline for the library.


	8. One Step Forward

Moonshine-less this time, Ajay sat in the library alone waiting for the sun to rise. His conscience and the events of the last morning, where he’d woken up with a raging hangover, had convinced him not to drink anything tonight. It was for his own sake, so that Trevor didn’t find out what was going on and tear him a new one for going through his stash and breaking the group’s rules-- the rules that he’d set.

He had to stay sober for a few nights to allay any suspicion. And he knew it was wrong, but the alcohol had helped him think more clearly. At least, he didn’t get so stressed about the million things on his mind.

Skye and Bailey, still recovering from the horrors they’d experienced in Delta’s base. Mohit, who had asked Erin why Ajay was acting so weird that morning. Trevor and his sneer, his “maybe you’re not cut out for this”. Everyone else, whose lives depended on him whether he was cut out for it or not.

And Grace, the one person he couldn’t stop thinking about. He regretted everything he’d said to her in the pharmacy; well, almost everything. He didn’t regret telling her how he felt about her. Even if there wasn’t much to do about it, he supposed that she deserved to know.

When she’d first gotten to Berry he’d been wary of her, sure, but a lot of things had changed since then. She’d stood by him where he thought he’d have to be alone, she’d helped Mohit learn how to stay innocent in a world that made innocence difficult, and she’d helped him do the most difficult thing he’d ever had to do. There was no way he could repay the debt he owed her, but he knew she felt a debt to him too. It was all confusing.

Maybe it was better to have a clear mind, anyways, if he was going to agonize over Grace. He knew she had feelings for him too-- he hadn’t been surprised when she’d confessed in the hospital pharmacy. Their interactions had been electric for a few months, admittedly, but they’d both been doing their best to ignore it. 

And of course he’d meant what he said in response. He might be a coward, but he wasn’t a liar. Not to Grace. She did make him want to be hers, and that was the most dangerous thing about her. Because what would happen if they did start a relationship and then it ended? Where would she go? Mohit was already attached, and Ajay couldn’t do without her constant calming presence and loyal friendship either. She was his best friend, his partner with whom he felt like he could face anything. He didn’t like admitting his weaknesses, but he could admit them to her. And she could talk about hers with him. He needed that friendship, but he was starting to think that he might need to be hers more.

“ _ What’s wrong with finding a little happiness? _ ” she had asked him. He couldn’t remember what he’d said, but whatever it was, it was probably stupid. There was nothing wrong with finding a little happiness. 

He could never tell her that, though. He’d said what he’d said, and he had to deal with it.

Lost in his thoughts, Ajay sat on the couch in the library, half-asleep, some very human thing within him wanting the warmth of another person next to him.

By the time the sun rose, that need overwhelmed him and he stood to head back to his room. Maybe Erin would be on guard that night; he didn’t remember the schedule. It was unlikely but still possible that Mohit would be up already, maybe they could have an impromptu Hindi lesson.

But as he trudged down the hall, Natalie was on guard and the light inside the classroom he and Mohit shared was still off. The light in the infirmary, though, was on, and before Ajay could stop himself, he let himself in.

Grace was awake inside, sitting cross-legged on the floor, keeping watch over Bailey’s and Skye’s sleeping forms on the other side of the room. He’d noticed that she’d sacrificed her cot in order to accommodate both of the injured girls.

“Hey,” Ajay whispered. “How are they?”

Grace looked up and offered him a small, tired smile. “Hey,” she said. “They’re doing okay. Bailey’s okay except for some bruises and her eye, but I’m still really worried about Skye.”

“How’s Bailey’s eye?” Ajay asked. “Sydney told me when we got back that it might be ruined.”

Grace nodded somberly. “Yeah, I don’t think she’ll be able to use it anymore. There’s a lot of damage. It looks like whoever or whatever did this clawed at her face. Her eye might be too damaged to heal.”

Ajay sat down next to Grace, unashamedly leaning over to rest his head on hers. “How about Skye?” he asked, before she could say anything.

“Technically, I guess she’s stable,” Grace said, “but she’s still really pale. I mean, she was pale before, but she’s almost white now. Sydney was looking at that wound by her knee earlier too. It looks like someone shot her and stitched her back up. I think she'll be able to walk on it again, but I'm not sure it'll be one hundred percent. It's hard to tell. I'm more worried about how pale she still is.”

Ajay couldn’t help but agree- although the girl had a pale complexion by nature, she looked ghostly as she laid on the bed, her small body rising and falling with her sleeping breaths. There was a large purple bruise covering a lot of her left cheek, and though the rest of her body was covered by the white sheet Grace had produced from the linen closet, he knew she probably had bruises all over.

As if she could read his mind, Grace spoke back up. “The bruising isn’t really concerning. Whatever it was really did some blunt force damage. I’m worried about internal damage. She was spitting up blood a lot yesterday, but she’s stopped doing that now. So I guess I’m hoping for the best?”

“It was her brother who attacked them,” Ajay said suddenly. Grace shifted away from him and stared at him, her eyes wide.

“Her brother? How could…?”

“I don’t know,” Ajay whispered. “And it’s not my place to say. He was cruel when we were in high school together, but he must’ve been a monster to have done this. But it looked like someone had killed him before we got to the base. I don’t know if it was Skye or Bailey out of self-defense, or someone else who had gotten away.”

“Did he turn?”

“He… yes. When we found them, he was turning. I killed him.”

Grace let out a breath. “Was it hard?”

“Killing Brian Crandall?” Ajay laughed. “No. Not in the slightest. Is that wrong?”

“No,” Grace decided. “He had hurt Skye and Bailey. And anyways, you killed a zombie, not Brian.”

“I sort of wished I’d gotten to him before someone else did,” Ajay confessed. “Seeing what he did to Skye and Bailey… I could’ve killed him. I think I wanted to.”

Grace bit her lip. “I don’t know if I could… but I wouldn’t have said anything if you did. Just looking at the damage he caused makes me sick, thinking one person was capable of doing this. If he hadn’t been killed, he would’ve killed them.”

“Have you ever seen worse?” Ajay asked. “I mean, before the outbreak. I think we’ve all seen everything hell has to offer since.”

Grace nodded. “I know zombies are brutal, but you’d be surprised what living people can do. Some of the stuff I saw… it still haunts me. And I didn’t even work for that long.”

“Why did you want to do that, then? Why go into healthcare?”

“I mean, you know I wanted to be a nurse. But I wanted to be an ER nurse. And I knew I basically needed to get desensitized really fast, if I was gonna make it there.”

“Yeah, but why did you even want to do it in the first place?”

Grace sighed. “I guess I just saw that the world was bleeding, and I knew I had to do something to help it.”

Ajay didn’t know what to say to that, but when he saw the shy smile she gave him, he felt a strange sensation. Like the ground had been swept out from under his feet. He gave her a smile back and leaned into her, nudging her shoulder with his.

“Did you get any sleep last night?”

Grace sighed again. “No, Natalie’s been on the guard shift. I can’t risk sleeping and missing something.”

Ajay looked around. “I wish I could help, but I have to debrief everyone and reassign duties. Plus I think I promised Mo a lesson in Hindi later.”

“Oh, tell him to come over here sometime and I’ll start his algebra lessons. Does he have that book I found for him?”

Ajay rolled his eyes. “Yes, of course. He loves it.”

“Hey, just because you can’t do math doesn’t mean your brother can’t love it.”

Ajay laughed, and then stood up. “You’ll be okay?”

Grace nodded. “Absolutely. You?”

“Absolutely,” Ajay said, a smirk forming on his face before he could stop it. “See you later.”

***

Clint sat on one of the boxes in the basement as Graham fiddled with the panel next to the water heater. He had taken over the entirety of the project since Skye was hurt and Trevor seemed to have better things to do then help get power and water flowing through the school. Clint knew he wasn’t much help, but once in a while Graham needed something handed to him so he could adjust things and Clint knew leaving him down in the basement alone probably wasn’t the best idea.

Trevor was different. He had always been a little selfish, but Clint was shocked at just how cruel he seemed to be. 

“Ok, I’m almost done, then we can test it out and see if it works this time,” Graham called from his spot.

“So, will that be enough to power the whole school?”

“I don’t think so,” Graham thought for a moment, “Maybe parts of it? I’m gonna try to route everything to power the section of the school with the nurse’s office. We’ll see how far we can extend it. I’m not sure we have enough solar panels to power the whole place.”

Clint nodded as they fell back into a comfortable silence. They had asked Trevor for help earlier that day to cover since Skye was unable to help. He brushed them off so casually to work on some project he wouldn’t tell them about. He and Clint were never that close, but it bothered him that Trevor seemed to be keeping something from everyone.

“Are you okay?” Graham asked as he turned around, taking a few steps closer, “You seem kinda out of it.”

“I’m trying to figure out what’s going on with Trevor. He never used to be this person. I guess I don’t understand what could have happened to make him this…”

“Yeah,” Graham nodded seldomly, “I get it.”

They fell into silence for a few more minutes before Graham offered a bright smile.

“Hey, wanna test out the power and water?”

Graham’s smile made Clint’s lip twitch in response. He gave in and smiled back at the slightly taller boy.

“Yeah, let’s go see if we can impress Ajay.”

***

Natalie had finished her shift on guard and passed off the baton to Erin before she decided to head over to the cafeteria to see if Danielle was able to convince Rory to come eat with everyone else. They seldom left their room and Natalie had heard them talking to themselves late at night when she was on guard. 

The cafeteria was less crowded today, a few people still doing their morning chores before heading over to eat. Casey was in the kitchen this time, keeping the blend of canned goods warm as people shuffled in to eat. Natalie walked over quickly, glancing around for a moment before her eyes landed on Rory and Danielle sitting at one of the tables. Sydney and Mia were seated a few tables away. She smiled at Casey when she walked up. The boy had been put to work to keep him out of the nurse’s office so Grace could work without him freaking out. It was hard for him to see Bailey in that condition. It was understandable, but Natalie felt that Bailey had held it together a little better then her brother did when he was hurt.

Casey tried to return the smile when he noticed her standing there.

“Hey Natalie, done with morning rounds? I thought you were on guard last night too?”

“Yeah, I offered to do another round today so Ajay wouldn’t have to ask Trevor to sub in,” Natalie admitted. “It’s tense enough between those two.”

Casey nodded and spooned some of the hot stew-like meal into an old ceramic bowl. She accepted it with a smile before turning to make her way over to the table where Danielle and Rory sat. Danielle noticed her first, a slight look of annoyance crossing her face before Natalie took her seat.

“Hey Rory! It’s so good to see you out and about.”

Rory looked up, which Natalie thought was a good sign, before muttering something and going back to pushing around their food in their bowl. Natalie wondered for a second if someone had already told them about Bailey. It was likely that Rory had seen them enter the school or had heard all the commotion outside once they had returned with the two injured girls. She knew from Bailey that the two used to be friends when they were kids. 

“We were just talking about how we always used to sit together here during the school year.” Danielle said suddenly, “We used to study here for exams. Rory was always really good at explaining whatever play or poem we needed to analyze for English.”

“I think I saw some of those old English books in one of the classrooms. Maybe we can find some of the poems we used to read.” Natalie offered as Danielle waved her off.

“I don’t think re-reading old poetry is going to help. We were just reminiscing, I thought it might help with everything going on.”

There were certainly a lot of things to miss about school before the outbreak. There were plays and rehearsal and eating the prop food after Ajay said not to. What would they be doing now if there was no outbreak? Would they all be sitting here at the table eating cafeteria food and talking about the latest play they were going to put on? Talking about fun things coming up like Football games, the Fall production…

“...Homecoming.”

“What?” Danielle asked when Natalie turned to them with wide eyes.

“We should have a Homecoming! To reminisce about life before the outbreak. We can all just take a break for a while.”

“You wanna take a break from the zombie apocalypse? That’s the dumb-”

“Homecoming?” Rory perked up a little and Natalie smiled as Danielle bit down on whatever snide remark was coming. Natalie smiled brighter when she noticed she had Rory’s full attention now.

“Yeah, we can set up the gym. We can make our own decorations and maybe we can raid the theatre prop closet for clothes. We can all eat dinner together and dance. Oh! Maybe if Graham can get the electricity going we can play some music.”

“You think Ajay will go for that?” Danielle cut in. “All of us goofing off?”

“It’s not goofing off!” Natalie defended, “it’s team bonding. Even Ajay knows we need breaks or we’ll all crash. Besides, I think we’ve all deserved a little fun.”

“Homecoming,” Rory mused over again before flashing a weak smile, “That might be fun.”

Natalie grinned as she took the smile, no matter how weak, as a win. 

“I guess it could be fun.” Danielle sighed before turning to Rory, “We could go together, like we did freshman year.”

“Yeah, and this time Bailey will be there too. We’d get to go to a high school dance together.”

Danielle grit her teeth a bit as Natalie slowly got Rory chatting more about how they could propose the idea to Ajay.

***

Jasper followed Mohit down the hall to the nurse’s office. The young boy had the promised algebra book in his hand as well as his usual notebook and the pencil that Ajay had sharpened for him, giving him strict instruction to not run down the hall with it. The white floof had been dubbed Mohit’s second in command when Ajay had left on his rescue mission and it was a job he took almost as seriously as his number one job:

Protect his human.

Once Mohit got into the room he walked quickly over to Grace to redeem his algebra lesson. Jasper sniffed around the room. The smell of alcohol and clean bandages hung in the air before the fluffball noticed his human laying on one of the tall iron bed things. His tail wagged excitedly as he trotted over and pressed his nose to Skye’s pale hand. He whined for pets for a moment before his feet moved in an impatient little dance as he moved in circles trying to get Skye’s attention.

“Sorry buddy,” Grace called over, “She’s resting.”

Jasper gave out a whine, adjusting his head on the bed so he could nudge Skye’s hand again, pressing wet doggy kisses to it before rolling up into a ball next to the bed, guarding the doorway in case anyone wanted to bother his human while she slept.

***

The morning had gone smoothly, Ajay felt a bit of relief at that, but there was something that was nagging at him that he needed to check in on. Delta couldn’t be ignored, they were a threat and Ajay needed to know how much of a threat they would be to their home. Mia had made it a habit to visit the nurse’s office several times a day to check in on Skye, so Ajay figured he could catch her on the way and see if there was more information she could provide on the organization.

Mia was walking down the hallway with Sydney when Ajay finally managed to track her down. The two were smiling at each other so similarly to how they did back when the dead didn’t come back to life. They had stayed together, even with the hell that was the world around them. Ajay supposed there was something very admirable about that. 

“Mia, can we talk?” Ajay asked once he drew near.

“Sure, we were just on our way to the nurse’s office.” Mia said as Ajay stepped into place next to them, “though, I already have an idea as to what you want to ask.”

“I’m concerned about Delta. That barn is pretty close to Cedar Cove. Do you think they’ll come down closer?”

“It wouldn’t surprise me. Delta seems to have gotten more desperate than they were when Skye and I were still in their ranks. For all we know they might have gone back to the barn already.” Mia frowned. “They seem to have gotten a little more careless too. It felt too easy breaking in. They must be down soldiers.”

“So we need to make sure we can defend against them, in case they attack.”

“It shouldn’t be too hard,” Mia insisted as they turned the corner, “The school’s pretty sturdy, I’m sure we can figure something out. Maybe we should try to see if the rooftop access door is open.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Sydney added, “with Danielle being a pretty good marksman that would be a good place to put a guard station.”

Ajay made mental notes, they’d need to have another meeting for this. The work kept adding up, at this rate they would need Skye and Bailey to make quick recoveries just so they’d have enough manpower to tackle the growing list of tasks. Mia walked ahead as they got closer to the nurse’s office, stepping through the threshold and placing herself next to Skye’s bed, right where Jasper had just woken up and was staring at Mia with suspicion.

“Hey Grace, have you had lunch yet?” Sydney asked with a smile, “We brought some food.”

Grace looked up from her algebra session with Mohit. Ajay grimaced as the haunting memories of math class rushed back.

“Oh, thanks! No, I guess we were having too much fun with  _ Algebra _ .” 

Ajay snorted, shaking his head as Grace exaggerated the dreaded word. He looked over to see the two patients in similar positions that they were in that morning. Bailey looked like she might have moved around a bit. Out of the two Ajay supposed Bailey’s injuries weren’t as severe as Skye’s.

“Has Skye been up at all today?” Mia asked as she brushed Skye’s bangs out of her face. Jasper rested his head on Skye’s foot possessively, watching the strange blonde human and analyzing whether or not the human was a friend.

“In and out,” Grace explained as she closed the book she and Mohit were looking over, “She’s better than yesterday. She hasn’t coughed up any blood today but she still seems pretty out of it.”

Mia nodded. Sydney had similar worries as she helped Grace with the two girls yesterday. Mia could tell her girlfriend was anxious about both their mental and physical health. Once the girls were awake for a while and could hold down a meal they could confidently say they were on the road to recovery. 

Skye’s hair had gotten long, Mia made a mental note to trim it once the girl was feeling better. Mia rested her hand on Skye’s forehead, feeling a slight fever. The smaller girl’s body was fighting to heal itself. 

Skye twitched a bit in her sleep and slowly her darker blue eyes opened weakly. She blinked a few times as Mia caught her eye.

“Hey,” Mia smiled as Skye seemed to focus on her a bit more, “how are you feeling?”

Skye muttered something, but Mia couldn’t catch it. She leaned down a bit closer.

“What was that?”

“...I’m sorry.”

Skye’s voice was rough and quiet. Mia could recognize that tone. Skye was blaming herself for everything. The girl was shouldering blame that shouldn’t be hers. Jasper whined and moved his neck to face Skye, giving her big puppy dog eyes.

“For what?” Mia asked softly, “you don’t have anything to apologize for.”

Skye tried to sit up a bit suddenly, Mia jumped at the motion and within a few seconds Grace was up as well.

“Easy! Don’t move too much.” 

Sydney moved as well as Skye pushed herself up. Everyone paused, not wanting to jerk the injured girl’s body back but wanting to be there in case. Sydney gently rolled Bailey’s cot to the other side of the small room to give them more space.

“It’s my fault,” Skye’s broken voice echoed through the small room, “Brian was mad because I left. And then I couldn’t stop him from hurting Bailey.”

Skye’s hand wrapped tightly around the sheet on her lap. Tears forming on her face as her jaw clenched at the memories. 

“I killed him.”

The room fell silent. Ajay shot a glance at Grace, who in turn bent down to whisper something to Mohit. The boy nodded, gathered up his schoolwork and left the room, but not before patting Jasper on the head and flashing Skye a small smile. Grace approached Skye’s cot and sat on the corner, careful not to get too close. Jasper reluctantly allowed the movement, knowing that Grace just wanted to help his human.

“He was going to kill you and Bailey,” Mia said.

“He was just mad because I left,” Skye tried to explain, her voice trembling. “I left him, just like how our parents left us. And once I left, Delta broke him.”

“So the blame lies with Delta, not with you,” Ajay reasoned, but the statement did nothing to reassure the redhead.

“There were other options… I didn’t have to kill him. I shouldn’t have killed him, I could’ve done something else to get him off of Bailey. I- I should’ve tried harder. I just… I killed him. I  _ killed _ him.”

Mia shook her head, slowly edging forward until her hand was touching the younger girl’s pale one. “You know what Delta’s capable of. They were the ones who killed him, at least mentally. They twisted everything he was into something monstrous. You didn’t kill your brother, you killed the shell of who he used to be.”

Skye’s blue eyes filled with tears at the words, and she was barely able to look at Mia. “They told me you were dead,” she said in a weak voice, the abrupt subject change taking everyone aback. “I was on trial for… for your  _ murder _ .”

Everyone except Mia looked surprised at the news. “That figures,” the older blonde huffed. “Delta’s specialty is physical torture, but that doesn’t mean they won’t resort to emotional torture as well. Well, Skye, I’m not dead. I’m right here, and I’m staying right here with you. So you need to rest up and heal fast, because we have some serious ass to kick.”

Skye started to smile, but then her face crumpled again. She turned to Ajay.

“Brian… did he turn?”

“Yes.” Ajay answered softly, as if his tone would make any of this better. Skye took that information in, and then closed her eyes.

“Did you kill him?”

Ajay nodded.

Skye let out a breath. “Okay. I thought I remembered that, but I wasn’t sure.”

Ajay looked like he wanted to say a hundred things, but he choked them all back. There was nothing he could say to make this better: the truth was that he’d done what he’d had to do. He didn’t regret it, and wouldn’t apologize. He did want to apologize, absurdly, for not having taken the girl’s place. He wished that she hadn’t had to go through that traumatic experience, hadn’t had to take her brother’s life in order to save Bailey’s and her own.

As if they were in sync, Ajay and Skye looked over towards Bailey’s cot, where the girl was sleeping peacefully. Skye noticed the bandages over the left side of Bailey’s face, though, and seemed even more distressed.

“Is she okay?” Skye asked, unable to keep the panic out of her voice. She attributed it to her fragile health, but that wasn’t quite true. In truth, she cared about the young blonde more than she’d ever wanted to care about anyone. 

Everyone looked to Grace, who started speaking. 

“A lot of the left half of her face and her left eye were damaged pretty badly. She’ll be blind in her left eye and there will be a decent amount of scarring on her face, but other than that she’ll make a full recovery.”

Instead of looking comforted at the news, Skye’s panic increased. She tried to stand up, eyes locked on Bailey’s cot. Grace gently restrained Skye, then looked to Ajay. Getting the message, he stood and rolled Bailey’s got back over, close enough to Skye that the redhead was able to reach for her hand.

At the contact, Bailey stirred. One green eye opened, staring directly into Skye’s blue ones.

"...Why's everyone so loud?" Bailey asked groggily as Skye and everyone else came into focus. "Did something happen?"

"No, everything's fine. We just came to check in on you two." Mia smiled softly as Skye settled on her side on her cot so she could still reach Bailey's hand. The young girl avoided Bailey's gaze a bit in shame.

"You're awake." Bailey offered a small tired smile, "I'm glad."

Skye let out a little hum as Bailey's thumb moved across the back of her hand. The panic settled down a bit in her chest, enough to breathe a little easier knowing Bailey was right there.

"What's the dog doing?" Ajay asked with a raised eyebrow as Jasper backed up and went forward a few feet.

"Jasper."

The second his human says his name all four paws are off the ground and propelling to the top of the cot. His weight moved Skye's cot impossibly closer to Bailey's and the edges crashed together with a light clank. Jasper wasted no time curling up against Skye's back, resting his chin on her shoulder and crying until Skye moved her free hand to scratch his ears.

" _ Needy," _ Skye accused as Jasper's tail thumped loudly against the bed. A giggle escaped Bailey's lips, soft and quiet but enough to pull the smallest of smiles from Skye.

Everyone else in the room backed up a bit to give the two some room, satisfied that Skye would stay calm as long as Bailey was near. 

"We certainly have our hands full with those two." Sydney giggled fondly as she shook her head. Mia gave a little nod as Skye's breathing evened out more, Bailey softly humming a tune as they lay near each other.

It was a bit of peace in the otherwise chaotic world. The peace was broken slightly when Graham rushed into the nurse's office, sweaty and panting.

"Ajay, you gotta see this."

Ajay raised his eyebrow at Graham, waiting for more of an explanation. The shaggy haired boy only smiled, reached over and flicked the light switch.

The lights blinked and groaned as electricity flooded into them. Two of the lights were out, broken long before Ajay had found the place. The working two lit up hazily.

"We have power. Limited of course but-"

"We have power." Ajay repeated as he looked up at the light, amazed.

"Limited, I marked the areas I was able to redirect power to on the map you gave me," Graham explained as he handed the paper to Ajay. "There's more."

***

The water smelled horrible. Clint's nose wrinkled as the showers and sinks in the locker room ran. The water trapped in the pipes was long stale and contaminated. Graham had said they'd need to run water for a while to see if they could get clean water running again. He had changed the filter twice already.

The girl's locker room was in the same state. With everything running at once Graham had hoped to flush everything out and get the showers and sinks usable. Then the toilets, which were in desperate need of cleaning.

But how good would it feel to take a hot shower? Clint would settle for a cold shower, just clean running water. They'd been washing up with bottled water for the time being. That would eventually just compromise their drinking water. If the showers worked, then they could focus on filtration and drinking water.

He could hear Graham's voice grow louder as he walked down the hall, explaining all the technical things involved with the lights and water.

Ajay's eyebrows shot up when he stepped into the room and registered the sound of water running before his face twisted at the smell.

"The water's been sitting in the pipes for years," Graham explained when he noticed Ajay's face, "we need to run the water for a while to flush everything out. And we need to clean so this area is usable."

"Maybe we can put Trevor's moonshine to use as a disinfectant," Clint said.

Bringing up Trevor was tricky, but Clint had hoped that the idea of having working showers and toilets would be a good trade off for them having to work together.

"We'll let the water run until clean, then give the place a good once over," Graham said as he glanced around the room, "no use cleaning if gross water is gonna keep coming out."

"Good plan, we'll see what we have in moonshine after we get the pipes flushed. Good work." 

Ajay nodded after his mild praise before turning to leave, dreading the idea that he needed to talk to Trevor to get moonshine for the cleaning.

Especially if Ajay kept drinking it.

***

Grace was  _ tired _ .

It had been two full days since she had last slept. She’d stayed awake for longer before, but that was with the help of coffee. It was the life of a serial insomniac. But there was no more coffee, at least not where Grace could access it. Her eyes were falling shut uncontrollably, and she figured that if she had to stay conscious for about three more minutes, she’d simply pass out.

So she woke Natalie up, briefly explained to the groggy girl where she’d be, gathered up a blanket and headed to the library.

It was the coziest place she could think of, and one of the most secure. It was also nice and isolated, guaranteeing that it would stay dark when the morning routines of the school’s other inhabitants started up. She figured it would be empty, so she was a little surprised when she found Ajay lounged on the couch in his makeshift pajamas made from a stolen tracksuit, sipping something from a jar that Grace immediately recognized as Trevor’s confiscated moonshine.

“So this is why you were hungover,” she said softly, but he still jumped and turned around quickly, reverting to defense mode almost immediately. “Just me,” she said and he relaxed, sitting back up to make room for her on the couch. He sighed, refusing to make eye contact with her.

“Don’t judge,” he started, “I hate myself enough already.”

“Then why are you doing it?”

“Can’t think of a better way to handle all my feelings,” he explained. 

“You could talk to me,” Grace responded. “That’s what we always did before.”

_ Before _ . When it was just them and Mohit. Nobody else to worry about, no group to take care of. Just Grace and Ajay up all night at the guard post, telling the stories of their lives to each other until one of them fell asleep.  _ Before _ , before Grace had made her stupid confession in the pharmacy, changing things between them.

“You can still trust me,” she tried as Ajay maintained his careful silence. 

“It’s not that. It’s just that you’ve been busy saving lives, and I’ve been busy trying to keep myself from making more work for you by ripping Trevor’s arms off.”

“Good, don’t give me more work. I don’t think I can handle another patient.”

Ajay turned to Grace. “Have you even been sleeping?”

She shook her head and held up the blanket. “I just woke Natalie, but she’s been on guard the past few days and Sydney’s been working hard on making the courtyard farmable. I came here to get some sleep.”

“And instead you found a pathetic excuse for a man,” Ajay joked. Grace rolled her eyes.

“I’m honestly too tired to argue with you, or else you’d be in for an hour of me telling you how awesome you are.”

“Yeah, I know, I know,” Ajay said, remembering Grace’s weird take on inspirational speeches, and all the other times he or Mohit had been on the receiving end of one. “You’re always here for me.”

“I know,” Grace said. “Now move over so I can lay down.”

Ajay made to stand up, but Grace pulled on the hem of his shirt and he sat back down, shooting her a confused glance.

“I didn’t say you had to leave,” she explained. “I need a pillow.”

Despite himself, Grace’s words brought a smile to Ajay’s lips. He settled back down on the couch, wadding up his jacket and laying it down on his lap to cushion her head.

Grace would blame her sleep-deprived state for the reason she grabbed Ajay’s hand and kissed it, but in reality it was the culmination of a few months’ feelings run through the thin line of her remaining consciousness. To his credit, Ajay barely visibly reacted, simply squeezing her hand in response as her breathing deepened, signaling that she had drifted off.

Beneath the surface, though, his heart was pounding. It wasn’t all bad, though-- he could hardly think about Trevor and the challenges of leadership when the object of most of his confusing feelings was curled up in his lap. He ran his hand through her hair absent-mindedly, thinking about just how difficult it would be to work up the nerve to kiss her someday. 

The reasonable part of Ajay’s brain dismissed the thought as a drunken fantasy, something that could only end badly. But his mind continued to wander, thinking up elaborate plan after elaborate plan on how to apologize for what he’d said to her in the pharmacy, how to win her back. He hoped she hadn’t moved on: that would surely shatter his heart, though it might be his own fault.

The ghost of her lips lingered on his skin, and he made a compromise in his head between his rational side and the side that only felt. Maybe having Grace, and her having him, wasn’t so impossible. After all, he’d seen how Mia and Sydney worked far better as a team than as individuals. He’d seen how Skye and Bailey worked together to get themselves out of the hellish trial in the Delta camp. And again, one of the things she’d said in the pharmacy rang through his head: “ _ What’s wrong with finding a little happiness? _ ” He was starting to run out of excuses for denying himself that simple thing.

With Grace's warmth and the alcohol starting to seep into his brain, Ajay found it too simple to drift off into the most peaceful sleep he’d had in days.

***

When they finally woke up, the room was a little brighter. Grace stirred back into consciousness, Ajay’s jacket still bundled up under her head, his arm laying across her shoulder, fingers barely touching her waist. 

Early morning sunlight began to drift through the dusty library windows as Ajay shifted out of his surprisingly peaceful sleep. He noticed her slight movement, grinned in that way she really liked, and twirled a strand of her hair between his fingers.

“Good morning, sunshine.”

His eyes were so soft looking down at her that she felt the overwhelming urge to just kiss him, consequences be damned. She knew they both wanted to. So, without thinking too much about it, Grace carefully lifted herself up and kissed Ajay.

The kiss was quick, but even so, a spark was lit and ran through Grace’s veins, setting all of her nerves on fire. It felt like something she was meant to be doing, like a part of her heart was falling back into place.

When she pulled away, Ajay looked thunderstruck, like he had been the victim of the same spark. As Grace sat back and came down from the high of  _ finally _ having kissed him, one look at his shocked face brought the feeling of guilt weighing down on her shoulders. What if he hadn’t wanted to kiss her? What if he didn’t feel that way? What about his rules, his reasons for pulling away at the pharmacy? She’d just broken all of his rules.

“Shit,” she said, moving to stand up from the couch. “I’m so sorry. Shit.”

Before she could stand up completely, though, Ajay tugged on the hem of her shirt, wordlessly urging her to sit back down.  _ Oh boy, _ she thought,  _ here comes the lecture. _

“I’m sorry, let’s just forget about it, that was stupid of me,” she said in a flood of words, trying to shield herself from the speech she thought he’d give her about responsibilities and fate and the cruelty of the universe. But instead--

“I didn’t say you had to leave,” Ajay said, a playful sparkle in his eyes and a real, genuine smile on his lips.

“...what?” Grace asked, thoroughly confused now. It was too early for complicated feelings.

Ajay huffed out a short laugh, his face now so close to Grace’s that she felt the breath from the laugh before she heard it. 

“Come here.”

She inched closer, and Ajay gently took her face in his hands and pulled her into another kiss.

Grace instantly relaxed into the kiss, resting her hands gently on Ajay’s shoulders. She felt that feeling again, like she was somehow made to be doing this. Though her heart was pounding and she knew that they’d have to talk about this at some point, she just couldn’t bring herself to think about that. Instead, she focused on the feeling of his lips against hers, his pulse jumping when she brushed her fingers over his neck, savoring the sensation until they separated.

The two stared at each other for a few moments after the kiss ended, the emotional barrier between them truly broken. Ajay opened his mouth, but he wasn’t able to say a word before Natalie rushed into the library.

“Grace?” she called. The room was still a little dark, so Natalie must not have caught sight of them yet. She grimaced apologetically at Ajay, who just shook his head with a small smile on his face.

“We’ll talk later. Go save lives.”

Grace rolled her eyes but squeezed his hand as she stood up, answering Natalie’s call.

“What’s up?” she said, hoping she wasn’t blushing or sweating or doing anything stupid like that.

“Skye’s asking for you,” the other girl said, unfazed by Grace’s sudden appearance. 

“Something wrong?” Grace asked, immediately going into emergency mode as she and Natalie jogged down the long hallway toward the nurse’s office. 

“I dunno,” Natalie replied, just before they arrived.

Skye was sitting up and talking to Bailey, the latter grinning widely at something the former had said. 

“Hey, what’s up?” Grace asked. 

“My leg,” Skye explained. “I know I got shot, but is it broken?”

Grace frowned, then moved to the cot to examine the gunshot wound. 

“Probably,” she concluded. “I don’t have the equipment to know for sure, but based on where the entry wound is, I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t. And just based on swelling alone, I think a few ligaments were probably torn too.”

“So can I walk?”

“I doubt it. Do you want to give it a try, though?”

Skye swallowed and nodded, taking both Grace’s and Bailey’s hands and gently putting weight on the injured leg. Before she could put even a little weight onto it, though, the limb shook uncontrollably and Skye cried out in pain before collapsing back onto the cot.

“So that’s a no,” Bailey said. Grace handed Skye a couple pills, which the redhead took dry.

“I want you in a cast for six weeks, at least,” Grace said. “Then we can check on it and see how it’s doing. It doesn’t look like the bullet went into your bone, so it’s probably more like a stress fracture. It’s likely you’ll be in a cast for longer. Then we have any damage the bullet did to the surrounding area.”

Skye sighed. “Alright. So does that mean wheelchair or crutches, or what?”

“Take your pick,” Grace responded. “I’d prefer crutches so you can keep your other leg healthy, but it’s up to you.”

Grace turned, trying to remember where she put the gore-tex and fiberglass mixture to make casts that she had stolen from the hospital. Grace thought for a second as she rummaged through her supplies. The bullet wound itself had been stitched up half-hazardly by Delta, then Sydney had removed the stitches once the wound was closed. It’d leave a nasty scar, but the skin was far enough in the healing process that the gore-tex material would be fine to use and the added water resistance would make it so Grace didn’t have to re-cast Skye every other week if water and sweat got trapped in a cotton liner. 

“Crutches would be easier to move around,” Skye mused a bit as her and Bailey fell back into conversation, “I forget what the rest of the school looks like.”

“We haven’t been in here that long,” Bailey rolled her eyes a bit, a smile coming to her face, “but long enough that Casey’s been teasing me. I guess I spoke too soon when I made fun of him for being a bad patient.”

Jasper let out an obnoxiously loud snore from his curled up spot at the foot of the bed, reminding everyone of his presence. Skye shook her head as Bailey giggled at the white floof.

“I bet Jasper can’t want to have you walking him around the school again.”

As if by magic the dog set up, alerted at the word “walk” before looking over at Skye expectantly.

“You’re trying to get me into trouble, you know that?” Skye sighed as she reached over to pat Jasper’s head, “so, do we have to stay here all night still?”

“Not that we don’t enjoy your company, Grace.” Bailey offered at Skye’s blunt question, “but I am starting to feel bad that you’ve been stuck here looking after us.”

Grace thought for a second as she brought her supplies over to the side of the cot where Skye sat. While the two girls weren’t completely healed, they had made some progress that Grace felt meant they were heading in the right direction. 

“How about we focus on the cast first. Then I can change your bandage, Bailey, and see what we’re working with there too. I’d like to wait until you two are a little stronger though. How about a compromise, you two can leave but you need to come in a few times a day so Sydney or I can check on you.”

Most likely Grace if Sydney was working on the courtyard. Natalie might not be able to handle changing Bailey’s bandage. The girl was a decent nurse despite not having any training, but she was very squeamish with blood. Between Skye’s and Bailey’s injuries the poor girl would start to feel faint and then Grace would have another patient to worry about.

“Deal.”

***

The cast took a few hours to set and twenty minutes to adjust the crutches to Skye's height before the two were set. Skye moved around the nurse's office while Grace changed the bandage around Bailey's eye. After Grace had cleared the two of them to move about the halls they decided to take a walk before dinner. 

Skye moved a bit clumsily at first. Jasper hopping around her and sniffing at the new metal legs his human was sporting. Bailey walked slower than normal, listening for the even noise of the crutches on the tile. 

"Getting tired?" Bailey asked when she noticed Skye's breathing pick up, "we can slow down if you're getting tired."

"I'd be easier if I wasn't trying to not trip over Jasper." Skye shook her head as the dog danced around her.

"He's just excited to see you have four legs like he does now." Bailey smiled, "and we get to have dinner with everyone again."

Skye hummed from Bailey's left as Jasper pranced a few feet ahead of them as they drew closer to the cafeteria. Skye glanced over at the other girl, immediately feeling guilt at the bandage covering most of the left side of her face. 

"I'm sorry about your eye."

"You don't have to keep apologizing. It's not your fault."

"Still, you only got hurt because you were trying to help me," Skye stopped abruptly, looking at the dust covered tile, "I feel bad, Grace said you might-"

"I know," Bailey said with a shaky breath, "can, uh, you come back over here?"

Skye looked up to see Bailey stopped dead a few feet away. She stood perfectly still in the hall. Skye took a few seconds too long to move and heard Bailey's voice come out weak as she started to rant a bit.

"I can't see on that side and it kinda freaks me out. At least if you're there… I feel a little better knowing you're there instead of not knowing what's there."

Bailey's voice shook. Skye moved the few steps forward so she was back in her spot next to Bailey. She shifted to nudge her shoulder against Bailey's causing the blonde to jump a bit before turning her head to the slightly shorter redhead.

"I bet walking like this makes us look like two halves of a really pathetic pirate." It's a poor attempt at humor, Skye had never been really good at jokes that weren't sarcastic or dark. Bailey smiled anyway, the back of her hand brushing Skye's as they shift closer.

"I think we'd make a pretty great pirate."

They walk the rest of the way in a comfortable silence. As they drew closer to the heavy cafeteria doors Bailey took a brave step forward, she pulled the door open and flashed Skye a grin.

"After you."

***

Natalie took a breath as she gathered her thoughts, ready to suggest her homecoming plan to Ajay. She had talked with Rory to gauge their excitement, with Graham and Clint to see if they could get music and candles so they wouldn't waste the newfound electricity, she checked everything.

She had all her notes mentally written down, ready to present to Ajay. When she finds him in the cafeteria he's seated next to Grace and Mohit, a surprisingly calm expression on his face.

"Ajay, I had an idea that I wanted to run by you," Natalie started confidently as he looked up at her, "I was talking to Rory and I think it would be a good idea to do something to help relieve the stress the group has been under the last few days. Since we're back at school and we're all together again, we should have an impromptu Homecoming."

Ajay seemed to think for a few seconds.

"Okay, that sounds good."

"I think it would really help Rory, and I've already talked to-wait what?" Natalie stopped mid rant.

"I said okay." Ajay smiled and glanced at Grace from the corner of his eye.

"...Erin! I think Ajay has a fever!" Natalie yelled and Erin looked up from her seat across from Casey, "He just said yes to one of my ideas.  _ Without questioning it." _

"It's not that weird," Ajay argued as Erin glanced his way, "besides, Natalie's right-"

"Oh my god, he must have a fever." Erin's eyes widened, "he's never said that."

"We've been through a lot the last couple of days," Ajay started, ignoring Erin and Natalie, "but we've also accomplished a lot. We've got running water and electricity. We've started work on planting our own food and creating our own agricultural infrastructure. We're moving in the right direction and that's something to celebrate."

"Hear, hear," Erin smiled at Ajay's words.

"If all goes as planned, we'll be able to take showers before the end of the week," Graham added, "and maybe we can set something up to wash clothes too."

The entire cafeteria fell into a pleasant chatter. Everyone talked animatedly about the new improvements to the school and the Homecoming.

"What's a Homecoming?" Mohit asked as he looked over at Ajay then to Grace.

"A homecoming is a dance! You can bring a date and dance or play games. Sometimes you bring your date to dinner beforehand and then dance the night away." Natalie jumped in excitedly.

"A date?" Mohit asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah! You ask that special someone to be your date. Someone you really like." Natalie grinned as she glanced over to Rory who was in a conversation with Danielle about Homecoming by the looks of it.

"I've noticed Rory's been more talkative lately," Ajay pointed out as he followed Natalie's line of sight, "It's reassuring."

"I'm hoping this helps them." Natalie nodded.

"Grace!" Mohit turned to the girl with a grin on his face as if he just thought of something, "will you be my Homecoming date?"

Ajay's head jerked in the direction of his little brother as Grace giggled.

"I would be honored."

Ajay gawked at the scene for a second as Natalie disappeared to go sit with Danielle and Rory. Mohit's smile got bigger as he did a little fist bump in celebration. He gave another cheer as Grace smiled warmly before flashing Ajay a teasing smirk. Ajay only shook his head as he looked back to his tray, the slightest of smiles on his face.

For the first time in a long time, it felt like everything was going to be okay.


	9. Homecoming

Trevor waited until nightfall before slipping through the hallways, past Erin and Casey patrolling and out one of the side doors. Things had fallen into a hum since Skye and Bailey had healed enough to move around the school. In Trevor’s mind it was like everyone had forgotten everything leading up to their healing. People were like that. Omitting things from their memory so they could focus on happier things when it was convenient. And now there were even more people in the school. Sydney was making progress with her gardening project. Graham and Clint had been working endlessly on the electricity and water flow for the small section of the school that would be able to access it.

Ajay had come to him earlier, about using the moonshine to disinfect everything. Trevor had only laughed at him. He already confiscated it hadn’t he? He could do whatever he wanted with it. 

People were stupid, people were liabilities.

Skye and Bailey were proof of that. Trevor scoffed as he moved past the boundary line of the school. Groups never worked out. He had seen so many as he traveled up and down the coast, never moving too far from Cedar Cove. Groups turned on each other, groups stole from each other, groups killed each other. If you wanted to survive, you needed your own survival plan.

Trevor was conflicted when he heard the voice on the radio. He wanted to see his old friends again, but was alarmed at how weak they seemed to be. Ajay was still a leader who couldn’t really lead anyone. Rory was a wreck, mentally broken in more ways than he could count. Erin was still mothering everyone, worrying more about them then herself at times.

And then there were the new unreliable recruits. 

People were like water, they shifted and changed, always going the easiest route to survive.

Walkers were different.

Trevor smirked as he heard the familiar crash of waves as he drew closer to the beach, closer to his old hideout. He lived in one of the fancy summer vacation homes some rich prick owned and probably never really visited. The house was big enough to keep all his trophies. All his study on walkers were locked up in that house.

The groans and moans coming from the basement door were a sign that his company had not perished yet. He had gotten very good at leading stray walkers where he wanted them. As he stayed on the beach and studied the walkers, the more he needed to complete his study. 

Walkers only cared about one thing: eating. A funny thing since their stomachs were all so decomposed they wouldn’t be able to digest the flesh of a person or animal anyway. The decay of the bodies identified how long they had been dead, what killed them, all kinds of information. 

Trevor had been trapping them for a while, watching them, studying them. He learned a few things in that time. That walkers were so much more reliable than people and that they were better equipped for survival then people. 

Walkers didn’t need food, walkers didn’t need anything. They just existed.

The wooden steps of the house creaked as Trevor stepped onto the familiar property. The dead in the basement groan louder as Trevor opened the door and stepped inside. The house was equipped with cans of food he had stolen from the other vacation homes, miscellaneous gadgets stolen from the pier, and various hunting supplies. The kitchen was connected to a room Trevor used to create his own walker leather. He had stolen the trick from a group who had lived in the hotel for a while. With the skin of a walker, one could blend with herds. It helped him move effortlessly around Cedar Cove to gather stray walkers or supplies. 

The walker leather he was currently drying would need a few more days. The mask maybe a week. When they were done he could move about the walkers freely again. They were the easiest to travel with. They never threatened each other or killed each other the way people did. They just survived. They thrived.

***

Natalie wanted to do this right. She wanted everyone to have a fun time at homecoming, so she went out of her way to ensure she helped with supply runs with Clint and Danielle so that she could help grab extra things they could use. She had found some dusty streamers at an old party store her and Danielle raided along with some party hats and favors. Danielle had snarked about it being kid stuff, but Natalie had a long history as a series DIYer and was hoping she could put her skills to the test to create a playful setup that everyone would enjoy.

The water was running clean now. That had been the best news of the week when Graham announced that the water was running clean and the two locker rooms would be usable after they finished disinfecting everything. 

Natalie had been walking over to help. Graham had been fixing up an old stereo that was hiding in the basement for Natalie to use during their homecoming. In exchange Natalie took on the dirty job of disinfecting and cleaning the girl’s locker room. 

The locker room was miles better than it was two days ago when she had started. However the smell of a very abused locker room that was left to rot for years was proving to be a very worthy opponent. Natalie pulled all the vents open and left the door wide open when she worked just to try to air out the room. 

She let out a sign as she looked over her bucket of moonshine and back at the room.

This would all be worth it come homecoming when Rory would be smiling and enjoying life as it was before any of this started.

Natlaie walked over to one of the sinks she had cleaned and turned the faucet, after a moment clean water rushed down into the drain and she smiled. The sound itself was like a little relief in the hell they lived in. Natalie turned off the water and cracked her knuckles before she turned to the tile and linoleum.

“For our sanity.” 

***

Sydney threw open the door to the costume closet, and she and Mia both immediately started coughing.

“Luckily, they’re all still packed in plastic,” Sydney remarked as she reached up to dust off a bag stacked on a shelf marked ‘Medieval’ in faded sharpie.

“Ooh,” Mia whispered, wiping off a plastic tiara with her sleeve. “What do you think, could I pull this off?”

“You could wear anything and look amazing, babe,” Sydney said, grinning sappily at her girlfriend. “I think that tiara needs a special dress,” she added, rummaging around on the ‘Mythical’ shelf until she found a solid white robe.

“Here,” she said, handing the folded robe to Mia. “That will go with the tiara well.”

“Matching shoes?” the taller blonde asked.

“Working on it,” Sydney muttered, having just caught sight of a row of shoe boxes lined up under the shelves.

The two worked through the costumes over the next few hours, passing over ones that were too thematic or funny in favor of ones that might work for a formal occasion. Mia had always had an eye for fashion, and the three years that had passed since she’d been able to get new clothes had only inspired her further. Sydney was delighted by what remained of the sewing supplies (Grace having confiscated much of the heavy-duty thread and needles for stitches) and her fingers itched to tailor some of the costumes.

Jasper came to them first, attracted by all the noise the two girls were making by sorting the costumes, and the white floof was followed close behind by Mohit.

“What are you guys doing?” the boy asked, and Jasper whined as if in agreement.

“Looking through the costume closet for stuff we can wear to homecoming!” Sydney answered, while Mia scratched behind Jasper’s ears. “Wanna help? I’m sure we can find something that’ll fit you with a couple alterations.”

“I’m too short,” Mohit countered, pouting.

Mia rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Please, your brother was barely over five feet when he started high school. You’ll grow.”

“Wait, bhai was short?” Mohit asked, amazement on his face. He made another mental note on his long list to make fun of his brother about that later.

“Yup,” Sydney said. “Then one summer he just shot up about six inches and ended up taller than almost all of us. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s even taller now than the last time we saw him. His pants legs are too short, I wish he’d let me hem them.”

“Oh, here,” Sydney said suddenly, pulling a newsboy cap out of a box in the corner of the small room. “This is cute, Mohit, try it on.”

Mohit dutifully put the hat on. Although it drooped a little further down his forehead than he would’ve liked, he was mollified by the two older girls exclaiming about how cute he looked.

“I’m sure we can find a smaller shirt and pants somewhere in here,” Mia said, “Though Sydney will probably still have to hem them for you. Does that sound ok, Mo?”

“Sure,” he replied. “Should I just come back when you’re done?”

“Yeah, let me take your measurements first,” Sydney replied, tape measure already in hand. At Mohit’s side, Jasper whined.

“Oh, of course we’ll get you something too,” Mia cooed at the white floof, patting his head. “A little bowtie would look just adorable on you. I’ll see if we have one that’s the right size.”

A few minutes later, Jasper and Mohit left the room and made a beeline for the gym, where they could continue to play fetch.

Skye and Bailey were the next to visit the costume closet, Bailey having been intrigued by something Mohit had said to Ajay in passing and Skye wanted to see Mia. Bailey guided Skye down the hall on the crutches, keeping the redhead in sight of her good eye at all times.

“Do you think Ajay is really gonna let us raid the costume closet for homecoming?” Bailey asked.

“He’s done weirder stuff lately, like agreeing to this whole thing. Whatever he says, it’s pretty clear he’s just doing this whole thing to impress Grace.”

“You think so?” Bailey asked. “He seems too serious for stuff like that.”

“People can surprise you sometimes,” Skye mused under her breath, prompting a sidelong glance from Bailey.

“What-?” the blonde started to ask, but before she could say anything, Mia poked her head out of the closet door ahead of them.

“Skye! Bailey! Come on in!”

Exchanging grins, Bailey and Skye entered the small costume closet. Sydney's bright smile lit up the dusty room as she sorted through gowns, suits, blazers and accessories from theatre productions past. She buzzed happily around each of the younger girls, taking measurements and gushing about the different pieces that would look good on them.

Skye fidgeted as Sydney moved around her, trying hard not to freak out at someone standing behind her. It had been a habit of hers since her days training in Delta. Mia seemed to notice her discomfort right away, flashing her a smile.

"You know, that black and gold number would look amazing on Bailey," she said, trying to diffuse the tension.

Sydney lit up and gave a slight nod. "Agreed. Let me grab it and we can see if it fits." Sydney pulled Bailey along with her and they went toward the pile of gowns that were deemed good enough for homecoming. 

Mia flashed Skye a smile. "Excited?"

Skye shrugged at Mia's question, her usual stoic look on her face.

"Can't really be excited about a dance when you can't dance." Skye made a weak gesture to her leg. Her knee had a few more weeks of healing to go, and she had already felt bad that Natalie had considered pushing it back so long. She had, slightly begrudgingly, told Natalie not to postpone just for her.

"Shouldn't stop you from having fun, or asking someone to be your date." Mia teased.

"Sorry, you're not my type." Skye replied, deadpan.

Mia let out a laugh, shaking her head as she turned to the rack of jackets Sydney pushed aside when she took Mohit's measurements.

"Glad your knee hasn't destroyed your sarcasm.  _ I _ might not be your type, but is there another blonde that's got your eye?"

"What makes you say that?" Skye asked, shifting her weight slightly.

"You just seem to be close, and it looks like you might have a little crush. Just an observation from someone who's gotten very good at reading you. You seem to really like her."

Skye opened her mouth, possibly to deny Mia's accusation, before her expression turned dumbstruck as something behind Mia caught her attention. Mia's eyebrow raised as she looked over and almost smirked at the sight that rendered Skye speechless.

Bailey did a little twirl in the Shakespearean era black dress with gold detailing.

"This fabric is so comfortable." Bailey exclaimed as she ran her hands over the black fabric.

"It's from a Shakespeare play we did. I couldn't save the sleeves but I think this will do nicely,” Sydney remarked, proud of her work.

"How do I look?" Bailey asked with a smile as she twirled, "maybe I should add an eyepatch for a more  _ Shakespearean pirate  _ look?"

"I need to take it in a little," Sydney observed before she flashed a bright smile, "but otherwise it looks really good."

"It looks beautiful, Bailey,” Mia added. “Wouldn't you agree,  _ Skye _ ?"

The redhead snapped out of her daze at the older blonde's voice, instantly turning a little redder as she stammered out a response.

"Y-you look beautiful."

"Yes, but we were talking about the dress," Mia teased as she watched Skye turn redder and try to stammer out something to save herself.

"Now we just need something for Skye," Sydney pondered as she tried to divert the attention from the very flushed girl, "I'm thinking the crutches are going to be an obstacle. Something too long will trip you."

"What about this?" Mia pulled one of the black leather jackets from the rack, "We could go  _ Grease _ for it since we have a mish mash of theatre productions."

Sydney examined the black garment.

"I bet I can dress it up a bit too. I think I saw some boots that would go with that." Sydney clapped her hands as she went to the shoe box pile to try to retrieve the right shoes. Skye only half paid attention as Bailey did another twirl in her dress, a happy little smile on her face as she seemed to bask in the idea of doing something normal like picking out a dress and going to homecoming.

Mia flashed Skye a knowing look and watched the girl stare off into space before turning to Sydney, who had seemed to pick up on it as well. She met Mia’s look with a smile before pulling an assortment of black Grease-style clothes that would go with the leather jacket Mia picked out. 

It was too bad Myra wasn’t here to matchmake.

Mia tried to shake away the feelings of sorrow that flashed through her as she remembered some of their older friends. The ones they hadn’t seen. The ones that could be dead or alive or really anywhere by now.

For now she’ll focus on Sydney’s knowing smile and the dumbstruck look on Skye’s face whenever she looked at Bailey. 

***

Rory pulled on the black tunic and brown pants that Sydney had handed them, eager to change clothes into something that looked nice like this. It had been a long time since they’d gotten to wear nice clothes. They pulled on the outfit and then stepped out from behind a rack to strike a pose.

Natalie immediately started applauding, and even Danielle looked impressed. 

“Looking good, Silva,” she said appraisingly, eyeing Rory in a way that made them feel a little uncomfortable but a little proud at the same time.

“Alright, I’ll admit it, Syd, you were right,” Mia sighed. “They really do look good in anything.”

Rory did a modelesque spin for the group, making Natalie whoop and Mia lift an eyebrow in amusement.

“I was right, this is exactly what we need,” Natalie said. “Now you, Danielle!”

Danielle rolled her eyes, but she did smile a little as Sydney handed her a pile of purple fabric to try on.

“You look wonderful, dear,” Rory’s mom said from her place by their side. 

Rory knew if they said anything, the rest of the group would freak out and might cancel homecoming because they were worried about their mental health. As it was, they already had to endure daily mental checks from Grace. They just wanted to go back to normal. So they just smiled in their mom’s direction.

_ They don't understand _ , Rory thought to themself.  _ I know this isn't right, but at least this way she's still here. _

It had taken weeks for Rory to admit that their mother was really dead and that it wasn’t a trick or a lie told by the group that had gotten them out of the hospital. But their mom was still there, even if they were the only one who could see or hear her. It was a little bit of peace that Rory didn’t want to part with. 

Having familiar faces around them helped. Rory felt much more at ease when they were in the company of Ajay or Natalie or Danielle. It reminded them of times before the outbreak. Seeing Bailey was also a nice bonus. The blonde felt like she was still as optimistic and awkward as she was when they were children. Rory wished they had the courage to spend more time with them. The obstacle seemed to be the smaller redhead that Bailey had become friends with. The two were rarely apart these days. The redhead always looked at Rory with mistrust.

Not the kind of mistrust that comes from pettiness, mistrust that seemed to come with fear. It was like those blue eyes looked at them and knew that they were still seeing their mother and still had a part of them that wanted to deny everything and go back to their delusions.

“How do I look?” Danielle’s voice broke them from their thoughts as the latina walked out in a stunning purple dress.

“It looks so good!” Natalie gushed as she stood up with a huge smile on her face. Rory smiled in response at seeing Natalie so enthusiastic. The girl was clearly very excited about this since she offered up the idea. Natalie was working so hard, it was refreshing to see the girl put effort into something like this.

“She’s right, you look great,” Rory offered as Danielle smiled, “I’m so excited to see how everyone looks. And to dance with everyone all night!”

The other two girls smiled and laughed in agreement. Rory hoped they might be able to sneak in a dance with Bailey as well. 

***

“What are you doing?” Ajay demanded as he rounded the corner to the costume closet.

“Ajay!” Mia cheered. “Good, you’re here. Please say I can put you in a pinstripe suit.  _ Please. _ ”

Ajay blinked. “Um- what? No. Wait, what?”

“We’re picking out costumes for homecoming!” Sydney explained. “Come on, Mia’s had a lot of ideas for you.”

Ajay narrowed his eyes. “Why do I sense that’s not a good thing?”

Mia sighed. “Ajay, if you had to choose one decade’s fashion, which decade would it be?”

“1930s, easy,” he replied instantly. “Why?”

Mia and Sydney exchanged glances, which just made Ajay’s frown deepen.

“Didn’t I tell you?” Mia asked Sydney, who sighed playfully and smacked her girlfriend’s arm.

“Alright, I’ll admit it. You were right.”   
“What?” Ajay asked defensively. “The suits and hats were sharp, and I for one admire the thriftiness they had with the sacks of grain, and-”   
“It’s not that, Ajay, it’s that we knew that was exactly what you were going to say. Come on, you already dress and act like a grandpa.”

“I would resent that, but I know you’re right.” Ajay admitted. “Alright, fine. I agreed to this homecoming anyways, let’s see what you’ve got and get it over with.”

Mia grinned, knowing she’d won. 

“Yes! Pinstripes time!” Sydney cheered, and went to hand the group’s leader a few stacks of pinstriped fabric that she’d recovered from the 1930s section. 

While Ajay was changing, Mia slunk over to the same section and took a few dresses from the racks to show Mia.

“I think one of these might look good on Grace,” she suggested in a low voice. 

“Matchmaking?” Sydney asked. “But we don’t even know if she’s interested-”

Mia silenced Sydney with a look. “Please, have you seen the way she looks at him? She’s interested.”

“Alright, if you say so,” Sydney said. “Maybe I just don’t know her well enough.”

“It’s plain enough to see, though,-”

“What’s plain to see?” Ajay asked, stepping out from behind the rack that marked off the changing area.

“You look dashing!” Mia exclaimed, avoiding his question and walking up to him to adjust his tie. “I think the blue suits you, but it’s a bit big. Syd, do you think we can take it in?”

“I’m sure we can,” she remarked, taking out her measuring tape to jot down his measurements and marking on the fabric with an old piece of chalk where she’d have to take the clothing in.

“And as for plain to see,” Mia added after she finished fixing Ajay’s tie and had stepped back, “We were talking about your big crush on a certain medic.”

Ajay rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t quite stop the blush that bloomed on his cheeks. 

“What about it?” he asked.

“You should tell her how you feel,” Mia advised. “No time like the present.”

“Bold of you to assume I haven’t.”

Sydney’s eyes widened at the plot twist, but Mia seemed unfazed.

“Okay, how about telling her in a way that’s not really roundabout and didn’t somehow hint about the world going up in flames?”

“How about keeping your nose out of my business?” Ajay shot back.

Mia raised an eyebrow as Sydney prompted Ajay to raise his arms over his head so she could get more measurements.

“Listen, it’s complicated,” Ajay admitted. “We talked about it, and things were said that I can’t take back.”

“You’re so smart when it comes to science and you’re so stupid when it comes to literally anything social. Trust me on this, you can make it work if you really want to.”

Ajay just sighed, and once Sydney was done with her measurements he disappeared back behind the rack to change back into his regular clothes in silence.

“Ajay-” Mia tried, but Ajay interrupted her.

“I’m not talking about this anymore.”

With that, he left the room. Sydney frowned in the direction of his retreating back, but Mia didn’t seem discouraged.

“He’s only getting stubborn because he knows I’m right,” she explained. “Trust me, I’ve known the idiot since middle school.”

“If you say so,” Sydney said again, but it was with a joking air, and accompanied by her playfully throwing a pink boa in Mia’s general direction.

***

“Really?” Grace asked, holding up the maroon skirt and striped top. 

“Absolutely,” Sydney replied, wearing the same cheeky grin as Mia was. Grace looked at the two girls suspiciously.

“Is there any particular reason you want me in an outfit from the Great Depression?”

“Oh, is that when it’s from?” Mia asked, playing dumb.

“You literally pulled it out of a tub that said ‘Bonnie & Clyde’,” Grace pointed out. 

“We just thought it would look nice on you,” Sydney said. 

“You’re weirdly insistent on this. I thought I’d get to choose my own costume.”

“Oh, you can,” Mia rushed to assure her. “But we thought you might like to try this on first. Oh, and take these nylons too.”

Grace glanced between the girls, and thought about fighting the decision, but ultimately knew when she’d been beaten. She acquiesced and ducked behind the rack to change.

Mia and Sydney exchanged a silent high five, and once Grace had come out dressed in the costume, looking for all the world like half of the legendary ‘30s criminal couple, the pair knew they had succeeded.

***

“No, Jasper, don’t slobber all over the decorations!” Mohit cried as he ran over to where the fluffy dog was sniffing at the paper cutouts that Natalie was making on the floor of the gym.

“It’s ok, he’s just checking them out, aren’t you, boy?” Natalie asked. 

Jasper huffed, as if he were agreeing, then trotted over to where Grace was hanging some of the paper cutouts on the wall. Natalie laughed as she saw the short girl standing on two chairs stacked on top of each other-- Ajay would surely have a fit if he saw someone doing something dangerous like that. It was funny, their whole lives were dangerous, but life inside the school was safe enough that doing something even mildly hazardous was cause for the uptight leader of the group to yell at someone.

Finishing the paper snowflakes and leaving them on the ground for Mohit to find a place for them, as he’d insisted on being the head of the “decorating committee”, Natalie left the gym just as Ajay was walking in.

He gave her a quick nod before entering the gym, and through the propped-open door Natalie could hear the exact time when he saw Grace perched precariously on the stacked chairs. She stifled a giggle when he started shouting to get Grace’s attention, but was unable to contain her laughter when Grace started yelling back. To avoid being detected, Natalie ducked into the courtyard just off the hall, where Sydney and Erin were bent over a couple leafy plants and Graham sat in the corner, messing with the mounting frame on one of the solar panels. Not knowing much about technology, Natalie headed over to talk to Sydney and Erin.

“Hey,” she greeted the girls.

“Oh, hey,” Erin greeted Natalie, and Sydney waved absently while carefully clipping leaves on a particular plant.

“Don’t mind her, she’s just in the green thumb zone,” Erin said. “What’s up, Nat?”

“Just seeing what everyone’s up to,” Natalie said.

“Well, give us the report, then,” Erin smiled. “What  _ is _ everyone up to?”

“Hmmm, where should I start? Casey and Bailey are working on food for tonight, Clint and Skye are messing around with the gym’s sound system, Mia’s still reorganizing the costume closet-” Sydney scoffed at that one, knowing full well that her girlfriend would spend all day with the clothes if she could, “Mohit’s trying to keep Jasper from eating all the decorations, Danielle’s on guard, Rory’s keeping her company, and Ajay and Grace are yelling at each other. Oh, and Graham’s over there in the corner messing with a solar panel.”

“And Trevor?” Erin asked.

“Oh, I don’t know. I figured he’d be helping Graham, but maybe he’s somewhere else.”

“I thought I saw him near the front of the school earlier,” Graham added from the corner where he was eavesdropping. “He might be on guard, too?”

“Maybe,” Natalie agreed, thoroughly unconcerned about Trevor’s whereabouts. “So anyways, can I help?”

Erin handed Natalie the watering can that she’d been holding. “Here, I’m tired of holding this thing.”

“Lazy,” Natalie joked as she set to work.

***

“Calm down,” Grace said, climbing down from the stacked chairs.

“Don’t tell me to calm down,” Ajay bristled. “You shouldn’t be standing on that. If you fell, there’d be nobody to help you.”

Grace rolled her eyes. “There’s Natalie, she’s good if there’s no blood.”

“But what if there was? Grace, we need you.”

Grace raised her eyebrows like a challenge. “It was a chair,” she pointed out.

“It was two chairs.”

“I’m short, I couldn’t reach.”

“You could’ve asked someone for help.”

“Mo’s shorter than me, Natalie’s only a little taller and I wasn’t gonna ask Jasper to hang up the decorations.”

“You could’ve asked me. You- you know…” Ajay looked around. Mohit was across the gym, playing with Jasper by dangling pieces of paper near his face and then yanking them away when the dog tried to bite them, and nobody else was around. “You know I’d do anything for you,” he admitted in a lower voice. Grace glared at him briefly before backing down.

“I know,” she sighed. “Sorry, I’m just on edge. I’m done with the decorations anyways, so I won’t do that anymore.”

“Thanks,” Ajay said, his expression softening. Grace took advantage of that to take his hand, lacing her fingers between his.

“When are we gonna talk?” she asked gently.

“Is that what you’re stressed about?”

“Of course it is.”

“We can talk tonight,” Ajay decided. “I just wanted to make sure we had some time to talk alone, and there hasn’t been any opportunities since… then.” 

“So we’ll talk during homecoming?”

“Yes.”

“Promise?”

Ajay rolled his eyes, then leaned in and kissed Grace’s cheek, pulling back before Mohit could look over. “Promise,” he said.

Grace blushed. “Okay.”

***

Casey bounced around the kitchen loudly, humming as he pulled a few cans and jars from the pantry to make dinner for the group.

"You're so loud, what are you even doing in there?" Bailey shook her head as Casey rummaged loudly through the pantry.

"I'm planning dinner! I want to make something special for everyone since we have homecoming tonight and-hey where did this come from?"

Casey pulled a bag from the pantry, analyzing the contents with a frown before showing it to Bailey. Inside the bag was at least two pounds of pasta. Freshly made like the kind their parents would make for the diner.

The twins looked at each other for a moment. They knew this couldn't be something someone found at a random house. It had to have been made recently.

"Who went on the last supply run?" Casey asked as he closed the bag. Bailey thought for a second. She couldn’t say she remembered the schedule off the top of her head. 

“I did,” the voice caused both twins to jump as they looked over to Trevor leaning in the doorway, “I figured since this is important to Natalie, we might as well have something special to eat.”

The twins shared a look. After a moment Casey shrugged and turned back to Trevor, clearly not wanting to make a big deal about pasta, even if there was no way he just found it. There was nothing to be done about it now, and he had sounded genuine about wanting things to go well for Natalie’s sake.

“OK, I’ll see what we can do with it,” Casey offered as Trevor dropped off his backpack and gave a half-hearted wave over his shoulder on the way out. Casey shook his head as he grabbed the backpack and rifled through the cans and jars Trevor grabbed on his supply run. He seemed to go on those a lot lately. If anything else it kept him and Ajay from fighting the last few days.

“Let’s make a kick ass Homecoming meal.”

Bailey nodded at her brother as the two went back to work.

***

Natalie looked around the finished cafeteria with a smile. Skye and Clint had finished the sound system and had found some old CDs laying around for music, the game tables and decorations were all set up according to Mohit’s specifications, and the entire group would come fitted in a mix of costumes and outfits courtesy of Sydney and Mia’s raiding of the costume closet. 

“It looks nice,” Natalie jumped at the voice and turned to see Trevor peering into the cafeteria, “It’s very you.”

Natalie tilted her head and Trevor went on to explain.

“It’s innocent in a way, like the world isn’t going to shit. Not brainwashed by everything we’ve told ourselves we’ve had to do to survive.”

“I… I’m not sure I understand what you’re getting at.” 

Trevor only laughed as Natalie flashed an awkward smile.

“Don’t change.” Trevor shook his head and looked over the scene again, “I wasn’t going to stay long, but maybe I can spare a few extra minutes after dinner since you worked so hard on this.”

Natalie isn’t quite sure what to say to that, but it was the nicest Trevor had acted since he arrived, so she wasn’t going to push him. She simply offered him a smile.

“I’d like that! I want everyone to have fun tonight, so it would mean a lot if you stayed and tried to get along with everyone.”

Trevor gave a bit of a shrug, “can’t promise anything, but maybe I’ll see you on the dance floor?”

Natalie didn't get to answer before Sydney and Mia make their grand entrance in a way only Sydney and Mia can. Both were dressed in elegant ball gowns from an old Beauty and the Beast play from the look of the dresses. 

“Nat! This place looks so good!” Sydney smiled as Natalie started over to them, catching a glimpse of Bailey and Casey preparing to serve dinner. Casey was dressed up in a dark blue pants and vest set with a white button up shirt underneath, simple pieces but they looked good on him as he placed layers of pasta and hardy sauce in bowls for people to take on their way in. Bailey pulled some water bottles from their storage area, handing them out as people came dressed in the beautiful black and gold dress she tried on earlier, paired with an old eyepatch over her bandaged eye, giving her a goofy pirate look.

Clint dragged his feet at the doorway, struggling with his tie for his outfit. As soon as Graham walked in, his gaze snapped to Clint.

“Hey, you look nice,” he said, ambling over to where Clint was standing. He reached over and helped the blond boy with his tie. Clint turned red.

“I- uh…” was all he could say. Graham just chuckled, used to the blond’s quirks.

“That costume suits you,” he continued, pulling at the lapels of the suit jacket. “Save me a dance once I get the DJ setup going, okay?”

“Um… uh…” Clint continued, not sure what to say. Graham looked  _ really good _ .

“Alright,” Graham grinned, patting Clint’s shoulder as he moved past in search of food.

Nearby, Grace accepted a water bottle from Bailey.

“Ahoy, matey,” she joked.

“Hi to you, too.”

“How’s the eyepatch holding up?” Grace asked, having helped Bailey rig it up earlier.

“Pretty good,” Bailey replied. “I think I might wear this all the time. Looks better than a bandage, that’s for sure.”

“If you’re prepared for people making pirate jokes all the time, then sure, go for it. But it’s still comfortable enough?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. It’s gonna take a while to adjust to just using the one eye, honestly.”

“Fair. Well, enjoy the dance!” Grace said as she walked off, making a beeline towards Mia and Sydney. Bailey called out a reply behind her, but Natalie had showed up by that point and the two were discussing something about food.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I miss makeup,” Grace said as she approached Mia and Sydney. 

“Oh, I know,” Mia said. “I’d kill for a pink lip right now.”

“I need red lipstick,” Grace agreed. “It would really tie the whole look together.”

“Embraced your inner Bonnie?” Sydney asked, grinning.

“Sure,” Grace shrugged, “She’s a badass. It’s like being in a play.”

“Good, I think that’s the point,” Mia said. “Should we get food?”

Sydney and Grace nodded, and soon there was a small line forming by the kitchen.

Rory and Danielle were next to enter, and both stuck by Natalie. Bailey wandered between the water bottles and where Casey was serving the meal, anxious to make sure everything went well.

Erin strode in, walking toward the food line, but was stopped by Natalie.

“Any sign of Ajay?” Natalie asked, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. Maybe Ajay had decided not to come after all, and was coming to yell and shut the whole thing down. Her imagination was running wild.

“Oh, yeah,” Erin laughed. “He’s in the hall, having a very serious talk with Mohit. He even has his older brother face on.”

“I wonder what that’s about,” Danielle said before the brothers walked in. Mohit took off across the cafeteria towards where Grace was just sitting down, and Ajay sighed and got in the line for food.

“Oh, hey, Mo!” Grace said, surprised to see the boy at her side so quickly. “Cute hat,” she added, poking Mohit’s newsboy cap. He frowned at her and readjusted it indignantly.

“Don’t mess with my hat,” he commanded. “Mia and Sydney gave it to me specially.”

“Alright, alright,” Grace said, putting her hands up in surrender. “You gotta get something to eat, though.”

“No need,” Ajay said, walking up with two plates of food. He handed one to Mohit, then proceeded to sit down on his little brother’s other side. He smiled over the table at Grace.

“You look sharp,” he said.

“Thanks,” Grace replied, grinning. “You too. I think Mia matched our outfits.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Mohit interrupted. “Grace’s  _ my  _ date.”

“I sure am,” Grace said, grinning cheekily at Ajay as Mohit focused on his food. “And we’re gonna have a great time. I’ll teach you some dances, and there are a couple fun games to play.”

Mohit grinned, and soon he and Grace were in an excited conversation about games and music while Ajay looked on, half with amusement and half with affection.

As soon as dinner was over Casey had run off to find Erin amongst the giddy group of high school aged survivors. Bailey had only smirked at him, watching him jog off with a shake of her head. It was nice to see Casey happy and excited, especially with his growing crush on Erin that he thinks Bailey doesn’t know about. Bailey scanned the area, Graham had started playing some old 2010’s era music through the speakers that Clint and Skye had dutifully set up hours before. 

Bailey scanned the crowd, watching a few people dance along to the beat of the current pop song playing in the background. In the corner, Grace was teaching Mohit how to pick locks on the door of the equipment closet. A few people sat around the various tables set up with board games. Bailey spotted Skye sitting at one of the tables wearing a mischievous smirk as the rest of the table groaned and threw their cards onto the table. As she took a few steps closer she noticed the array of poker chips stacked next to each player.

“Poker?” Bailey asked as Mia shuffled the cards, the older blonde looked up with a smile.

“Yup, wanna join? I think Natalie and Clint are done losing chips tonight.”

“We’re lucky money doesn’t exist anymore, otherwise we’d owe a lot.” Natalie joked as she smiled over at Clint, who was watching as Graham worked at the makeshift DJ booth him and Skye had set up. 

“I don’t know how to play.” Bailey explained as Clint and Natalie excused themselves, leaving Danielle, Mia, Sydney and Skye at the table with Mia getting ready to deal. 

“Skye can teach you, after all she’s in the lead so I’m sure she won’t mind giving the rest of us a little handicap,” Mia winked in Skye’s direction before gesturing for Bailey to take a seat.

Skye shifted slightly closer as Bailey took up a seat next to her, going over some basics of the game as Mia dealt out the cards. Bailey tried to pay attention, but Skye looked more than a little distracting in the form fitting leather jacket and satin shirt combo Mia had put together. The entire costume reminded Bailey of a gang member in a 1970’s romance film. 

Bailey folded the first round, wanting to watch more and see if she could get a better grasp through that. Mia and Skye seemed to have the better poker faces among the group, trying to outwit each other into folding or raising. Bailey watched as Skye kept her stoic look on her face, only slipping to flash the slightest of smirks as chips were stacked onto the center of the table.

“Meet your new queen everyone!” Mia jumped up excitedly and slapped her cards right side up on the table, revealing an array of face cards. “Royal Flush.”

Mia collected her chips with a laugh as Sydney chuckled along with her. Danielle tossed her cards down with a sigh. 

“I think I’m done for now, Mia’s a shark.” Danielle shook her head and glanced around the room before making a beeline to where Rory and Ajay were catching up. Sydney smiled before wrapping a hand around Mia’s.

“I love this song. Shall we dance to your victory, my queen?”

“We shall.”

Skye and Bailey watched them frolic off onto the area cleared to act as the dance floor, dancing in sync as soon as they smiled and laughed at each other. Bailey turned back to Skye as she gathered the cards. Skye shuffled them for a second before turning to Bailey with her signature mischievous smile. 

“Wanna see a trick?”

Bailey didn't get to answer as she fell victim to the adorably dorky grin that spread across Skye’s face. She watched as Skye walked her through a few sleight of hand tricks. The chatter and music behind them picked up as the world outside the school faded away. The upbeat music drew more people onto the dance floor as Skye tried to teach Bailey how to do a snap change. Bailey was in the middle of accidentally dropping the card that was supposed to vanish when a familiar pop song from long ago played through the speakers. 

“Hey, Bailey?” Rory interrupted as they walked over. “Wanna dance? I hear Graham is playing quite the shanty next. It would be a shame if the princess of pirates didn’t lead the dance.”

Bailey hesitated for a moment as Rory offered her their hand. She turned slightly to Skye, feeling guilty about leaving the girl by herself since Skye couldn’t dance at all with her knee the way it was. Before she could really gauge the other girl’s reaction, Natalie and Danielle walked over as well, laughing and insisting that Bailey come to dance with them before Bailey was swept away. Danielle was the only one to look over her shoulder, tossing Skye a rather pitiful look.

No doubt Danielle had grabbed Natalie the second she saw Rory walk over to Bailey in another one of her possessive displays. Skye’s eyes narrowed at the look before she glanced over to watch Rory and Bailey dance to the beat of the song, all smiles and laughter. As she glanced around the gym she caught sight of Grace teaching Mohit some dance moves, Casey and Erin chatting by one of the pushed aside tables, Mia and Sydney were tearing up the dance floor, and Clint and Graham in their own little area of the dance floor moving awkwardly to the music.

The only person other than her sitting by themselves is Trevor. He’s seated a few tables away at some tile game that’s half-hazardly set up. He watched the dance floor absent mindedly as he moved a few tiles around on the table.

Skye turned her attention back to Bailey as she smiled and danced with Rory. She couldn’t help but feel jealous that she couldn’t be the one to dance with her, if that’s even what Bailey would want in the first place. Her knee injury felt more like a punishment. Some sort of payment for all the people Skye hurt in Delta, including those who were forced to live with her mistakes. Brian, Jade, and then Bailey, someone who shined so bright left with the cruel reality of vision loss in her eye because Skye couldn’t save her faster.

Skye reached for her crutches, not really wanting to sit by herself. Jasper noticed her movement from his careful watch of the strange human gathering and walked over to her side. Skye hobbled over to the door and slipped through with Jasper at her heels. She turned the corner to head back towards her room when she spotted Ajay leaning against the wall. He looked up at the sound of the door.

“Needed a break?” Ajay asked as he patted the area next to him on the floor. He seemed to have gotten lost in a book while a dance went on in the next room. Skye thought for a moment before complying, moving slowly to adjust herself so she was seated in the hall with Jasper making himself comfortable at her side.

“Do you always read at dances?” 

“I’m not much of a dance guy,” Ajay explained as he closed his book and set it aside. “I never really went to them. I think that’s why Mo insisted on having so many game tables too. So there was something for everyone.”

“He’s a strange kid,” Skye muttered as she ran her hand through Jasper’s fur, “but Jasper likes him so I guess he’s okay.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him you said that.”

“Don’t you dare.”

Ajay chucked, shaking his head a bit and he looked over. Skye remained focused on Jasper as the big dog rested his head on Skye’s good leg. Ajay glanced her way, his typical big brother senses picking up on the fact that the younger survivor seemed to be bothered by something. 

“Why are you sneaking away?” Ajay asked a bit softer. “It looked like you were having fun beating everyone in poker.”

“Why are you out here instead of with Grace?”

It’s a bit snappy, but Ajay tried to roll with the girl’s punch. 

“Because she’s Mohit’s date and it’d be rude,” Ajay offered matter-of-factly. “I want to make sure you’re okay. You’re one of us now and I care about what’s going on with everyone in our group. So if something’s bothering you, you can tell me about it.”

Skye sighed and cast her eyes down to look at Jasper, her hand running through his thick white fur, and answered slowly.

“It’s just… I was alone for so long. I didn’t need anyone else. I didn’t even want to talk to anyone else, it was just me and Jasper, and that was good enough for me. And I never really had friends even before all this, either.”

“Hey, and you think the guy who reads books outside of school dances did?”

“Guess not. Listen, I never really belonged to anything before. I was the black sheep of my family, and even Delta never fully trusted me. I didn’t expect to last long here either, not after the thing with Trevor.”

Ajay considered this. “I guess I always had Mo, and before this I always had the theatre department here, no matter how unpopular I was.”

“And you have Grace,” Skye reminded him.

Ajay sighed. “That’s the thing. I was so used to having her as a friend, that when I started feeling something more I was too scared to lose her friendship.”

“I’m sort of worried about that,” Skye mentioned, trailing off.

“With Bailey?”

“How’d you know?”

“You’re pretty obvious. Especially that whole part in the infirmary when you woke up and started panicking until Grace told you she was okay.”

“I still feel bad that I couldn’t save her faster,” Skye said. “She doesn’t deserve to have lost her vision because of my fight with Brian. I was just laying there, I could’ve done more to have stopped Brian from hurting her.”

“Maybe,” Ajay said, “but maybe you’d have hurt her a lot more if you’d died. I don’t know how much Grace told you, but we were pretty scared you were going to die. I think that would’ve hurt Bailey more than losing her vision. She cares about you a lot.”

“She shouldn’t,” Skye argued, though a part of her warmed up a little with Ajay’s confirmation that Bailey cared.

“But she does,” Ajay argues back. “If I’ve learned one thing through all of this, it’s that feelings are nonsensical, but indestructible.”

“She makes me care about her,” Skye said, “and that’s the worst part. I never wanted to care about anyone else before now.”

Ajay nodded. “I know that feeling. At the beginning, after my parents died and turned, I just wanted to keep myself and Mohit safe. Mo was my only priority, the only thing I cared about in the world. But then Grace happened, and it took a while, but at some point I realized that I couldn’t lose her either.”

“How did you know? When she started mattering to you?”

“I think she snuck up on me,” Ajay admitted. “I didn’t want to care about her, I tried my hardest to just see what we had as an arrangement to help us both survive, like an alliance. But we’re both insomniacs, and we spent a lot of late nights talking, and somewhere in there she started being my friend.”

“And when did she become more?” Skye asked quietly.

“She helped me with something. Probably was the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do. She saw me broken down and unable to go on, and she helped me put myself back together. I think that’s when I knew I didn’t want to be without her.”

“I think Bailey saved me,” Skye said. “She jumped into the pit without a second thought to defend me from Brian. She could’ve just taken advantage of the chaos to sneak out, but she chose to defend me instead. She’s so… so…  _ nice _ .”

“This is unlike me to say, but I can tell you two have a strong bond. And I don’t think there’s anything dangerous about having feelings for someone. Nothing more dangerous than every day life is, to be fair.”

“You sound awfully wise,” Skye joked, trying to lighten the mood. 

“Ah, I just like to think I know what I’m talking about,” Ajay replied. “Enough about me, though. Why don’t you go get her? I’m sure she wants to spend time with you. I saw the way she was looking at you earlier.”

“Why don’t you follow your own advice?” Skye jabbed, struggling to get up with her crutches. Ajay quickly stood and helped her out.

“I’m working on it. But hey, take your time with Bailey. You’re both safer here, so you have the luxury of getting to figure things out.”

At that moment, Mohit and Grace appeared in the doorway. Skye bit back a laugh as she saw Ajay’s face light up.

“Hey,” Grace greeted them both. “Mo says he’s tired.”

Mohit did in fact look a little sleepy, holding back some yawns.

“Well, it’s getting late. Skye, go on, enjoy the rest of the dance.”

“Fine,” Skye muttered, having reverted back to her stoic shell at the appearance of other people. By her side, Jasper stood up and walked over to get pets from Mohit. Ajay said something to Mohit that Skye couldn’t understand, and the brothers headed down the hall towards the office. Grace watched them go for a bit, then turned to Skye.

“Bailey was asking for you,” she said with a knowing look on her face. “She looked pretty unhappy after you left.”

Skye let out a breath. “Okay.”

“Anyone with eyes can see how much you care about each other,” Grace added. “Plus you seem to be fitting in here really well.”

Skye just looked at Grace.

“Ajay doesn’t just talk to anyone like that,” she started again. “He really trusts you. I think it’s a big brother instinct.”

Skye wasn’t able to stop her smile at that. She ducked her head and wobbled back into the gym, looking for Bailey.

Grace leaned back against the wall, messing with her sleeves. Getting to go to the dance with Mohit, seeing him laugh and dance around and get to be a kid, had been refreshing. He’d been the life of the party. Grace supposed that he’d had to grow up much faster than any of them had, having only been eight at the time of the outbreak. It was nice seeing him playing, dancing around, being happy. 

Ajay reappeared around the corner, having shed his jacket somewhere along the way. Grace gestured to the book that he’d left on the floor.

“Waiting For Godot? Is someone a Beckett fan?”

“It used to be my favorite play,” Ajay explained. “I found a copy in an English classroom. It’s still good, but the stakes seem much lower than they were before.”

“Guess that’s what a massive apocalypse will do,” Grace shrugged. “Clint was telling me about his diary the other day. Seems like a good idea to keep track of things, so we remember where our priorities are supposed to be.”

“That’s why I’m trying to teach Mo how to read and write in Hindi. Or, I guess, continuing his lessons. We both learned Hindi when we were little kids, so he’s pretty good, but I just want to make sure he keeps the language.”

“That’s good. I can’t imagine how many languages are going to die.”

“I think Danielle speaks Spanish,” Ajay mused, “and you speak Chinese, and I think Rory was learning French. There are a lot of different Indian languages, and I can kind of understand some of them, but some are just gibberish to me.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be able to tell Cantonese from a bunch of scribbles on a page,” Grace laughed. “But there are other survivors. And I’m sure someone else out there speaks most of the languages in the world. Or at least, I hope they do.”

“Do you ever think about the future? About how the hell we’re going to rebuild society?”

“I try not to think about it,” Grace hedged. “But it starts right here. With us, here in this school. We have a place to live that’s safe, we have crops and electricity and medicine. We’re basically a small dysfunctional town. The zombies outside are no more of a threat to us than wild animals were to our ancestors. I guess we’ve just regressed a lot in some places, and stayed the same in others.”

Ajay thought that over, then appeared to store those thoughts away.

“So,” he said. “We should probably talk.”

Grace exhaled, leaning against the wall more. “Yeah, we should. Library?”

“Sure.”

The pair started down the hall. Grace tried not to notice the way Ajay had rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. It was more likely than not that he was going to say something about taking back what he’d said about his feelings for her, something about regretting kissing her. She thought she’d known him well, but this side of him that would shove her away one day and pull her in close another was completely unpredictable.

And she guessed she wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to end the whole thing right here. This was hardly the right time to complicate things, after so much had happened in the group.

But then they reached the familiar couch in the library and Ajay took her hand, and Grace’s thoughts were all scrambled. She wondered instead if her hand was too sweaty, if he could feel her rapid pulse through her palm.

“Listen,” he started, “I don’t really know how to deal with my feelings. But I don’t lie about them. I’ve had feelings for you for a long time now.”

Grace blinked. “Um… me too.”

“I know.”

An uncomfortable silence settled between them, during which Grace was sure Ajay would be able to hear her heart pounding, then Ajay spoke up again.

“I was just talking to Skye, and somewhere in the middle of the conversation I told her she should act on her feelings. I think it’s probably time I follow my own advice, don’t you think?”

Grace was surprised by the turn of events.

“What changed?” she asked. “You were so insistent before, and it was kind of reasonable.”

“Honestly, I’m tired of being reasonable. I think I’m out of reasons to resist happiness.”

A slow smile forming on her face, Grace shifted so she was facing Ajay, lacing her fingers between his. He held on tightly, and brought his other hand up to tilt her chin so he could look at her. Her face flushed unconsciously.

“So you’re saying I was right,” Grace teased, a playful glint in her eyes, trying to distract herself from feeling embarrassed.

“Ugh,” Ajay groaned, rolling his eyes. “You’re not going to let me forget this, are you?”

“Nope,” Grace said. “I was right, you were wrong.”

“Fine, fine. I was wrong.”

“Good. So now that we agree that we can stop denying having feelings for each other, what are we gonna do about it?” Grace asked.

“The term ‘dating’ kind of seems archaic now, doesn’t it?” Ajay wondered. “I guess we can say we’re a couple, if you’d like, and then figure out the rest along the way?”

“Sounds good,” Grace agreed. “Sort of a build-your-own-relationship thing. The old rules don’t apply anymore.”

“God, I was hoping this would go well,” Ajay said suddenly, pulling his hands back to play with Grace’s hair. “You’ve been my best friend for so long now, I didn’t want to mess this up.”

“Same here, but I thought I already messed it up in the pharmacy,” Grace replied. “Then by kissing you a few days ago.”

“Hey, I kissed you back,” Ajay reasoned. “You definitely didn’t mess anything up.”

“That’s a relief, because I kind of wanna do it again.”

Ajay raised an eyebrow. “You do?”

“Of course. So, can I?”

Instead of answering, Ajay leaned in and pressed his lips to Grace’s. 

Caught by surprise, she froze for a moment before melting into the kiss, moving her hands up to cup his cheeks. He only pulled her closer in response, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Once Ajay broke away from the kiss, slightly out of breath, Grace could only watch him until he looked back at her, his face red, and pulled her in again.

***

Skye doesn’t take more than a few steps back into the cafeteria when her eyes find Bailey leaning against the wall a few meters away, watching the others dance with a slightly disappointed look on her face. There’s a slower song playing, the low rumbling bass and soft lyrics filled the cafeteria. Skye took a breath before starting to make her way over, given away by her furry wingman as he let out an excited bark causing Bailey to look in her direction.

The blonde’s face lit up instantly, a bright smile forming on her face as she rushed over to Skye with a bubbly excitement that pulled a smile onto Skye’s face as the other girl stopped a few feet away from her. 

“Hey,” Bailey greeted once she drew close enough, her smile bright and contagious, “I was looking for you earlier. You kinda disappeared.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Skye muttered as she fidgeted nervously, “I-uh, wanted to stretch my legs for a minute.”

It’s a horrible excuse. Bailey nodded as her smile grew a little more nervous. She started talking more with her hands, a nervous tick that Skye found adorable.

“So-uh, I wanted to ask if you,” Bailey trailed off a bit, moving her hands as if playing charades to have Skye guess what she wanted to ask, “wanted to hang out with me? Just the two of us?”

Skye’s wanted nothing more all night. She can’t help watching the other girl shift awkwardly for a few more seconds, her cheeks flushing a light red color as she looked anywhere except in Skye’s direction. Skye felt a fond smile come to her face as the girl waited anxiously for her answer.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

Bailey practically jumped into the air with excitement, her smile as bright and warm as the sun as she reached a hand out to grasp Skye’s wrist softly. Green eyes held a mesmerizing brightness as she gave Skye’s arm a playful tug.

“I set something up! Come with me!”

Bailey bounced out the cafeteria and down the hall almost at a speed Skye couldn’t keep up with on her crutches. Bailey practically vibrated in excitement as they rounded the corner back towards their room. When they got closer, Bailey quickly took a few steps ahead to grab the door for Skye, flashing her a smile as she opened it. Soft light drifted into the hallway as Jasper let himself in first with Skye a few paces behind him. 

The soft light came from the lantern set in the center of the room. Bailey had moved the unused desks around and draped in tattered sheets and old cushions to create a very rustic looking fort leaning against one side of the room.

"Ta-da!" Bailey gestured to her creation with flourish through her eyes still reflected a trace of nervousness. "Come see the inside."

Jasper's two steps ahead as she barreled into the fort nose first, sniffing at the fabric walls and cushion floors. Bailey giggled at the fluff before offering her hand to Skye, helping her discard the crutches and climb into the fort. Bailey turned to grab the lantern before settling close next to Skye, shoulders touching in the dull lit room. The lantern was set just outside the opening, coating Bailey's face in a soft orange glow. 

"I found a bunch of extra blankets and helped Clint wash them so we had extras for when it gets colder. I got him to let me borrow a few," Bailey explained proudly. "I loved making forts as a kid. I’d stay inside them for hours. Safe inside my own little world.”

“What did little Bailey’s world look like?” Skye asked softly as she watched the light flicker across Bailey’s face. Bailey’s smile grew as she let out a hum in response to Skye’s question.

“Oversaturated with unicorns, flying dolphins, and showtunes.”

Skye tried to hold back a laugh, shaking her head as a smile lit up her face for a few seconds. Bailey shifted in her seat to face Skye more, flashing her a soft, fond smile of her own.

“You haven’t smiled like that in a while,” Bailey pointed out softly. Skye met her eye for a second before her eyes shifted to the eyepatch and then to the ground. Bailey caught the movement. She reached over and took Skye’s hand in her own, giving it a squeeze so Skye would look back up at her.

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

Bailey’s voice was barely above a whisper. She held Skye’s gaze, hoping the other girl could see the truth in her words. They seemed to confuse her as Skye searched Bailey’s eye as if trying to figure her out. Bailey had learned that “it’s not your fault” wasn’t something Skye would let her mind accept, but maybe she could get Skye to accept how much she had come to mean to Bailey. She could see the self-deprecation that Skye brought down on herself every day. She knew how hard she had to work to get Skye to smile these days. 

It was quiet for a while, their fingers threaded together as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. The silence around them was comfortable, it usually was. Bailey was a bit surprised when Skye broke it so soon.

“I wish I had been able to dance with you,” Skye’s voice settled into the darkness, “I don’t regret telling Natalie not to hold everything on my behalf, but as the dance went on I really regretted not being able to ask you to dance.”

Bailey blinked in surprise for a minute before she leaned her shoulder more against Skye’s.

“Rain check then. When your knee is in working order,  _ I’m _ gonna ask  _ you _ to dance.”

Skye laughed, a bit of the lingering tension and stress that had built up since their escape from Delta leaving her body completely. 

“Fine, but I get to pick the music,” Skye’s blue eyes are a bit more mischievous, “and you gotta go with whatever I pick.”

“It’s a date-DEAL! It’s a deal.”

“It’s a date,” Skye corrected almost immediately causing a blush to quickly spread across Bailey’s face. She’s almost expecting some kind of joke or tease but Skye only smiles at her with that almost dream-like grin that can put Bailey into a trance.

“I thought  _ this _ was a date?” Bailey countered quickly, gesturing around their makeshift fabric world as Skye tilted her head.

“This is a date?”

“You’re so mean,” Bailey laughed as she shoved Skye’s shoulder playfully with her own, “Maybe I’m not good at asking girls that I like out on dates.”

“I like you too.”

Again, Bailey hadn’t been expecting the straight forwardness of Skye’s confession. It was a very welcome change from Skye’s dismissive behavior that seemed to stick around since Delta. Bailey’s smile brightened as she leaned back against the cushions, settling in the makeshift sleeping area as Skye leaned back with her, hand still intertwined with Bailey’s.

Laying on their sides facing each other gave Jasper more room to sprawl his fluffy body across the vacant space in the fort. The comfortable silence surrounded them as Bailey started to feel the exhaustion of the night's events catch up to her. 

“Thank you,” Skye’s voice whispered, causing Bailey to stare, suddenly wide away, “for everything. You saved me, in ways I’ll never begin to really thank you for. You’re really important to me, and I want you to know that.”

“You’re important to me too,” Bailey smiled, feeling almost lightheaded at the number of confessions that night. Skye was being more open than Bailey had seen her be in weeks. Bailey swallowed her anxieties for a second to surge forward, placing a quick kiss on the other girl’s cheek before turning away so her back was to Skye so Skye couldn’t see how red her face had become.

“G-Good night!” Bailey stuttered as her heart pounded in her chest. After a second she heard a light-hearted laugh escape Skye’s lips. She shivered at the feeling of her breath against the back of her neck. She heard Skye shift a bit before she felt Skye rest her forehead against the back of Bailey’s shoulder.

“You’re a dork and I like you.”

It was Bailey’s turn to laugh before she mustered enough courage to turn back around to face Skye, resting their foreheads against each other. She closed her eyes and allowed the warmth that radiated off Skye’s body to lull her into a peaceful sleep.

***

The next morning, the lights were on in the cafeteria early. Casey and Erin were heating up the leftovers from the previous night, doling them into servings. One by one, the group trickled in. Ajay was one of the last to enter, trailing behind Mohit. He grabbed a bowl and sat next to Grace, who’d been watching him from a distance all that time. Setting down his bowl, he gently tucked a strand of Grace’s hair behind her ear, and kissed her.

“...What?” said Natalie loudly, and the entire group turned towards the couple before they pulled away from each other, Grace looking a little embarrassed.

“Ha!” Erin crowed. “I knew it! I knew he’d get his shit together.”

Sydney elbowed Mia. “Looks like your little idea worked.”

Grace whimpered and tucked her head into Ajay’s shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

Beside him, Mohit looked mortally offended. “Bhai, you stole my date!”

“Aw, Mo, you’ll always be my number one guy,” Grace said, ruffling his hair. 

“That was rude, Ajay, stealing someone’s date,” Skye added unhelpfully with a teasing smirk playing on her face, throwing back Ajay’s words from the night before, “I think you should apologize,”

“Yeah!” Mohit agreed with a grin, Ajay laughed and shook his head.

“I’m sorry for stealing your date,” Ajay offered as sincerely, flashing Skye a teasing look as he added, “I just wanted to make sure I took my own advice.”

Skye’s attention, however, was already pulled back to Bailey as the girl recounted an embarrassing tale of Casey when they were exploring a settlement. Ajay shook his head as he turned back to his own meal.

“So,” Trevor started, “what’s the schedule for today?”

“Now that we have limited water and electricity, I think the next step should be planning ahead for the winter. Sydney’s already started to make good use of the old greenhouse in the courtyard, but I think we should start stockpiling now as well so we can limit the number of outings we may need to take later.”

“Cedar Cove is big, but I worry about how much more canned goods we can find,” Erin added, “It’ll be nice once all our crops are established, but that’s going to take time.”

Ajay nodded seriously, “We need to focus our energy on making runs to collect supplies. The Rowling Court houses looked like a good place to start, but we need to consider how far away they are. We can’t take the ambulance everywhere with limited access to gas.”

“What if we could make a big hit somewhere that would have us set for the winter?” Trevor asked in a way that made it sound like he already had a place in mind.

“What were you thinking?” Natalie asked.

“We could hit the Delta Farm.”

The entire cafeteria froze as a sudden tension filled the room.

“Listen, I know it sounds risky, but think about it. Delta had crops, food, horses, and probably everything we would need to maintain everything. We know where it is, we know from Mia that they don’t use it all the time. If we hit it, we’ll end up with enough food to feed everyone for a good amount of time.”

“That’s a horrible idea,” Mia spoke up, “If we hit Delta, they’ll want to hit back. They already know people are in the area from the last time you tried to raid the farm. They’ll look for us if they think they can get recruits from it.”

“Then shouldn’t we do something? If nothing else to drive them away?”

“How?” Natalie asked, getting Trevor’s attention as concern flooded her face, “How could we put up a fight against them?”

“We have a few months before winter,” Clint cut in, “there are other places inside Cedar Cove to find supplies. We just… we need to focus on the walkers, maybe we can get to more areas if we could, like, shift them around?”

“Skye used to use the church bell to time where walkers would be back in town, maybe we could do something similar to uncover other areas,” Bailey added, Skye remaining very silent next to her.

“I understand that you are trying to help,” Ajay started, aiming the comment at Trevor to find middle ground and avoid a much larger fight, “we need to plan a strategy everyone is comfortable with. You can’t hit Delta by yourself and you can’t ask people to help you when they’re uncomfortable.”

“Fine,” Trevor muttered as he settled back in his seat. He spent the rest of breakfast watching everyone enjoy the leftover pasta he had stolen from the mill at the Delta Farm a few nights ago. 

If they were going to be so naive about it, then he would have to show them how wrong they were.


End file.
